Drivers of brand loyalty

Increasing product similarities might have caused consumers to have difficulty in distinguishing between brands on the basis of functional and tangible attributers. However, interpersonal relationship factors such as love and affect, which are on a different level from functional attributes, can add another distinction to a brand. Such interpersonal and intangible attributes might help consumers to distinguish more easily between brands and to become brand loyal. However, more research on relationship factors as drivers of brand loyalty seems to be needed. Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001) investigated interpersonal relationship factors in relation to brand loyalty. It was therefore considered important to partially replicate their research. After analysing 182 respondents in two different product categories, the results gave strong support for the original findings. The results indicate that if a brand is able to create trust and elicit a positive emotional response, this increases the chances of a brand loyal relationship between a consumer and a brand. This indicates that a relationship perspective seems to contribute with rich information that is lacking in the brand loyalty literature, and provides enhanced knowledge on how a consumer might become brand loyal today. Managerial implications of these results are discussed