BRAND EXPERIENCE AND CUSTOMERS' REPURCHASE INTENTIONS IN UPSCALE RESTAURANTS IN PORT HARCOURT, SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA: MEDIATING ROLE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

The study investigated the direct and indirect effect of brand experience on repurchase intention in upscale restaurants in the hospitality industry with customer satisfaction as a mediator in the garden city of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. The descriptive and quantitative survey research gathered data from 150 customers who patronize upscale restaurants in Port Harcourt. Well-structured questionnaire containing 13 items, with four demographic items was used to elicit data from the respondents. After data editing, and reliability analysis of the instrument, inferential statistics was conducted to validate the model developed for the study with the help of SPSS. The result of the inferential statistical analysis revealed that repurchase intention towards the upscale restaurants is driven by brand experience. The mediating role of customer satisfaction also exists significantly between brand experience and repurchase intention. The empirical study extends the understanding of the brand experience construct by studying its influence on repurchase intention and also by incorporating customer satisfaction as a mediating variable in the context of Nigeria. Entrepreneurs and their managers operating upscale restaurants in the hospitality industry are expected to build capabilities in the area of experiential value conceptualization and delivery based on the needs and expectations of their target market. This is because the delivery of memorable brand experience will engender customer satisfaction which is capable of promoting positive customers’ behavioural outcomes such as repurchase intentions. To achieve success in this regard, restaurant managers are expected to develop capabilities in customer experience managemen