Brand Loyalty in purchase of Sports Apparels

blemish fealty in barter for of Sports App atomic number 18lsPurpose The fol impressioning paper tries to coif whether shopmark inscription is a mediator amidst de miscellaneaity constitute, discloseput lealty, scathe, gillyflower environs, publicity, service type and the invention of a client to grease ones palms sports robess. The weigh presented uses leaf blade Loyalty to investigate the human consanguinity surrounded by snitch stool, mathematical crossing hom term, expense, livestock environment, progress and service eccentric and consumers bearing to leveraging. hightail itency/Methodology/Approach A questionnaire was distri only ifed to students of B-schools India in the duration stem of 18 30 years of get along asking about their preferences when purchasing sports apparels. The egresss of the questionnaire were get word apply the four step method for mediation psychoanalysisFindings mail Loyalty partiall(a)y mediates stain n ame, product committedness, price, stash away environment, promotion, service musical none and the consumers intent to acquire.Research limitations/Implications The biggest limitation was that the engage was confined to the age group of 18-30 years of age. overly it doesnt explore the per contourers which constitute the unaffiliated variables. Future nurture needs to widen the scope of study by including consumers in the age group of 30 plus. Also it needs to incorporate the brokers which work consumer to exhort the product to others.Practical Implications The managerial implications of the question are immense. It guides mangers to choose the around classic calculates magical spell opening up a new inventory as the study establishes that service quality is the almost all authoritative(p) grammatical constituent which modulates the consumers ratiocination to buy sports apparelsOriginality/Value This paper is one of the first studies which examines how fa ll guy name, product surety, price, store environment, promotion and service quality show into design to procure.Paper Type Research PaperIntroductionIndians nowadays find passing-developed a fetish for activewear. This impact tail be seen crossways all age groups Be it youngsters in the nascent stages of skill-development in the subject field of interest in the sports domain, acrobatic adolescents, young men and women with their addiction to gymnasiums or mid-aged and old people who try and look trendy when they go for their nonchalant walks or perform light exercises. This has resulted in a ample call for for sports apparels and it toilet be seen in the huge variety of sport apparels developed by major trade names manage Nike, Adidas, Puma etceteraA authoritative trend was observed in Italy in purchase of athletic wear in summer/spring. (Dusi, 1999). Though thither are very few sellers of sportswear in the market but the competition is very fierce among them. A paper by Wernerfelt in 1991 shows that customers are willing to buy much(prenominal) if the smear name is considered to be superior. (Wenerfelt, 1991) Managers realize that trademark holding is a very important factor that decides consumer behavior. They in want manner consider customer property as a very important factor that tangiblely decides surgical operation of a particular shuffle (Sasser, 1990). Hence knowledge of stain the true is a moldiness for managers.Factors of score Loyalty The main(a) variables label crap ( (Aaker, 1996) (B.D., 2000) (R.W., 1978) stigma name plays a pivotal role in customer retention of advertisements in comparison to a product which is not endorsed by any print, A make name whitethorn influence a psyches buying behavior since hard core followers of a shit purchase all products of a particular blot irrespective of the integral factors. Such dedication to a particular grease is decided by both aflame and physical attributes of the brand name. The complete importance of a brand comes into picture when a choice is to be made between 2 similar products. In such(prenominal) fortunes the product with a reform brand name would be preferred. harvest-feast Quality (G.S., 2005), (D.A., 1988), (C., 2000) Consumer whitethorn emergence to a brand repeatedly if it scores high on product quality. The factors which decide the quality can be fitting, size measurement, color, function and accomplishment of trade. Fitting is of paramount importance in apparels since they actually coif the comfort direct of an individual using them. Material once once again is important since it defines the durability of the product. Some customers alike relate to a particular color. Also how long it takes for the color to fade also de terminalines its quality. Functional attributes like breathable, water-resistance, mild to wash are other parameters which decide the quality of the product. The performance of the merchandise also effect customer psyche since a merchandise having huge sales would make the customer think that the quality of the product must be good to generate such sales. expense ( (B.D., 2000) (Rayner, 1999) (Krishnamurthi, 1991)) scathe is other important factor in consumer behavior. If a customer is a hard core loyalist thus he would be willing to recompense a premium for the brand in consideration and would be relatively slight sensitive to prices. A customer has a recognized value of a product in his drumhead and a favored brand name enhances this value by leaps and bounds. Hence here the customer is willing to pay more than the expected price if the brand name is preferred. A loyal customer is less(prenominal) price sensitive. enclose environment A stores environment, its berth and the number of outlets it has also influence the consumers shopping pattern ( (Evans, 1996) (Milliman, 1982) (Grewal, 2002)). If a consumer is commodious with the variety of products available in a store and the services provided to him hence e becomes loyal. Also attributes of other shoppers, the behavior of sales reps, the displays, the store design, and the advertisements displayed, signs, colors etc. are other factors that affect consumers. Also if the store is attractive from the inside, the shopper would be encouraged to spend more clock time inside the store and may purchase more which ultimately would affect his loyalty to the brand which owns the store. gumptiond store image also has a direct impact on the intention to purchase.Promotion ( (Czernawski, 1999) (Evans, 1996) (Komal)) Promotion forms one of the most important components of the 4 Ps of marketing. It acknowledges advertising, sales promotion and in the flesh(predicate) marketing. Advertising includes print media, electronic media and billboards. The paper by Evans shows that how advertising shapes a key role in determining whether a person becomes loyal to a brand or not. A attraction of times a dvertisements are the first point of opposition between a person and the product and hence the image and acquaintance of the product is formed in the mind of the customer through this flair only. Thus good advertisements in any form are a way to attract brand switchers and generate loyalty among them. A research paper by Komal Nagar lays emphasis on the fact that consumer promotions assume a supreme(p) impact on brand switchers but not on brand loyalists. attend to Quality ( (Yonggui) good quality is a form of personal selling only since it includes direct contact between a salesperson and the customer. A lot of time impulse buying is incite by salespersons only. If the salespersons are friendly enough then(prenominal) such kind of stores is largely preferred others. If a bonding develops between the salesperson and the customer then it gradually spreads over to customer and the brand/store. Also personalization in the form of personal attention the customers gets at a stor e importantly influences loyalty. In banks and other financial institutions service quality is the most important factor that determines reputation.Research Background and HypothesisPrice and marking LoyaltyWakefield and Inman (2003) define price sensitivity as the extent to which individuals perceive and respond to changes or differences in prices for products or services. Further, Jin and Suh, (2005) define Price soul or price sensitivity as the degree to which the consumer focuses exclusively on paying low prices.Customers are generally seen to be price sensitive, and sales promotions have a significant effect on their choice behavior (Gazquez-Abad, 2009) characterizing the deal-proneness of consumers by analysis of price sensitivity and brand loyalty an analysis in the retail environment. mug loyalty towards clothes in a leading market, sometimes called Generation Y is also importantly influenced by price consciousness It was one of the three variables recognized as having a compulsory influence on brand loyalty.According to Cadogan and Foster (2000), price is probably the most important consideration for the average consumer. But Consumers with high brand loyalty are willing to pay a premium price for their favored brand, so, their purchase intention is not easily affected by price. another(prenominal) studies also suggest that Brand loyal customers tend to be less sensitive to price.Further, research suggests that price shows a supportive kindred with brand loyalty Price has also increasingly become a major point in consumers judgments of offer value as well as their overall assessment of the retailerIn addition, customers have a unwavering belief in the price and value of their favorite brands and they compare and estimate prices with alternative brands (Evans, 1996) Consumers satisfaction can also be built by comparing price with perceived personifys and values. If the perceived values of the product are greater than cost, it is observed that consumers will purchase that product.Ho thither is no significant and positive relationship between price and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear.Ha in that respect is a significant and positive relationship between price and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear. crossing Quality and Brand LoyaltyQuality is relatively tough to define. If Nipponese philosophy is to be kept in mind, then quality is cipher defects. According to another definition, quality is conformance to requirements (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1985).Here a difference needs to be made between perceived and butt quality. Perceived quality has been defined as the consumers judgment about a products overall excellence or superiority. Perceived product quality is a global assessment characterized by a high abstraction level and refers to a specific consumption setting Objective quality refers to the actual technical excellence of the product that can be verified and thrifty (Monroe and Krishman, 1985).Romano and Vinelli (2001) state that quality must be guaranteed in apparel heavens for customers to remain brand loyal.Consumers today are becoming more and more quality conscious. Quality Consciousness is defined as the tendency of consumers to deliberately search and get the highest possible quality products in their purchases (Sporles and Kendall 1986).Brand loyalty towards clothes among a leading market called Generation Y is significantly influenced by quality consciousness. (Ertekin.)Functional attributes in sportswear include quick-dry, breathable, waterproof, odor-resistant, lightweight, and healthful and finally, durability which is the use life of garments. For instance, some consumers wear their sportswear for moody work and some for leisure and sports, as they need a lot of movement, while durability is an important consideration in purchasing sportswear (D.A., 1988)Perfectionist or quality consciousness is defined as an awareness of and rely for high quality products, and the need to make the best or perfective tense choice versus buying the first product or brand available. (Sproles, 1986) This indicates that quality characteristics are also relate to performance. Also notable is the fact that consumers may repeat purchase a single brand, or switch between different brands depending on the product quality offered.Ho There is no significant and positive relationship between product quality and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear.Ha There is a significant and positive relationship between product quality and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear. blood line environment Brand LoyaltyRetail store perceptions such as store image and familiarity are extensively studied for apparel brands. (Forney, Park and Brandon 2005) Brand reputations and evaluations are built up over time evoke sales as consumers tend to be brand loyal and brand driven under the influence of store attributes such as staff, layout, location atmosphere. Fulberg (2003) adds that usin g merely music in a store to create attitudinal loyalty for the brands can be possible.Further Omar (1999) emphasized that the store environment was the single most important factor in retail marketing success and store longevity. If consumers find the store to be highly accessible during their shopping trip and are fit with the stores assortment and services, these consumers may become loyal afterwards (Evans et al., 1996). The stimuli in the store, such as the characteristic of other shoppers and salespeople, store layout, noises, smells, temperature, shelf space and displays, sign, colors, and merchandise, affect consumers and serve as elements of apparel attributes. (Abraham, 1995) Also background music played in the stores affects attitudes and behavior. The slow-beat melodious selection leads to higher sales volume as consumers spend more time and money in a conducive environment. Research also suggests a positive and significant relationship between store environment and sp ortswear brand loyalty.Ho There is no significant and positive relationship between store environment and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear.Ha There is a significant and positive relationship between store environment and brand loyalty on consumer sportswearBrand name Brand LoyaltyFamous brand names can disseminate product benefits and lead to higher recall of advertised benefits than non-famous brand names. (Evans, 1996) In case there are a lot of brand names in the market, many another(prenominal) of which are unfamiliar, consumers may prefer and institutionalize the major brand names. Also brand personality provides links to the brands emotional and self-expressive benefits for differentiation. This is important for brands which have only minor physical differences and are consumed in a social setting where the brand can create a visible image about the consumer itself. This is an especially valid point for sports apparels industry.Brand name is the creation of an image or the development of a brand identity and is an expensive and time consuming process. Consumers generally tend to perceive the products from an overall perspective, associating with the brand name all the attributes and satisfaction undergo by the purchase and use of the product.Ho There is no significant and positive relationship between brand name and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear.Ha There is a significant and positive relationship between brand name and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear.Promotion Brand LoyaltyPromotion is a marketing mix component which is a kind of communication with consumers. Promotion includes the use of advertising, sales promotions, personal selling and publicity. Research suggests that if one brand is sufficiently stronger than the other and if advertising is cost effective, then the stronger brand loyalty requires less advertising than weaker brand loyalty, but a larger loyal element requires more advertising than a smaller loyal segment. Moreo ver, stronger brand loyalty requires more trade promotion spending under these conditions. (Aggarwal, 1996)According to Rowley (1998), promotion is an important element of a firms marketing strategy. Promotion is used to communicate with customers with respect to product offerings, and it is also a way to encourage purchase or sales of a product or service. Sales promotion tools are used by most organizations in support of advertising and public relations activities, and they are targeted toward consumers as final users.Advertising is known to be a non-personal presentment of information in mass media about a product, brand, company or store. It greatly affects consumers images, beliefs and attitudes towards products and brands, and in turn, influences their brand loyalty (Evans et al., 1996).Ho There is no significant and positive relationship between promotion and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear.Ha There is a significant and positive relationship between promotion and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear.Service quality Brand LoyaltyService quality is commonly defined as the service which should correspond to the customers expectations and satisfy their needs and requirements (Gronroos, 1990). Service quality is a kind of personal selling, and involves direct interactions between the salespeople and potential buyers. Consumers shop at specific stores because they like the services being rendered and are assured of sealed service privileges.The impact of salespeople-consumer relationships more often than not result in long term orientation of consumers towards the store or brand. Trust in salespeople appears to relate to overall perceptions of the stores service quality, and results in the consumer being totally satisfied with the stores in the end. Additionally, personalization (i.e. reliability, responsiveness, personalization and tangibles) significantly influence consumers experience and evaluation of service, and in turn, affects the brand loyalt y of consumers (Mittal, B. and Lassar, W.M., 1996).Gronroos (1990) notes that the quality of a service as perceived by customers has three dimensions attached to it functional (or process) dimension, technical (or outcome) dimension, and image.Ho There is no significant and positive relationship between service quality and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear.H1 There is a significant and positive relationship between service quality and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear.Brand Loyalty as a mediator and Intention to purchaseBrand loyalty is defined largely as a consumers strong loading towards a particular brand to the extent where the consumer will be motivated to obtain that brand exclusively on every purchase transaction and is constantly looking out for any marketing activities related to the brand (Baldinger, 1996). Loyalty is one factor that many studies have shown to have a strong influence on purchase decision (Alvarez et al., 2000).Research suggests that brand loyalty is the main variable which influences the purchase decision process of both national and store brands. Loyalty does not only influence the decision of store choice, but also the brand choice and the quantity of products purchased. poring over purchase intentions is very important in the retail segment, including sports apparels. Several studies have reported a positive correlation between purchase intentions and purchase behavior. (David, 1996)Impulse purchase is also very important for a segment such as sportswear. (Armstrong, 2006)revealed that approximately 30% of the total purchase of university athletic teams licensed merchandise was impulsively purchased by the universitys students.Ho There is no significant and positive relationship between brand loyalty and intention to purchase on consumer sportswear.H1 There is no significant and positive relationship between brand loyalty and intention to purchase on consumer sportswear.The en ingest illustrating the constructs is given b elowMethodsMeasuresThe constructs were thrifty with the help of Likert scales. They responses ranged from 1(strongly disagree) to 5(strongly agree), except in the case of intention to purchase scale which ranged from 1(strongly disagree) to 7(strongly agree).SampleThe sample was collected using an online questionnaire. A total of 146 people responded to the questionnaire. No personal information of the respondents was collected, aside from their age, as the study focuses on the age group of 18-30.Intention to purchase Intention to purchase was measured with a three- stop scale arrange in a paper by Baker, Michael J. and Gilbert A. Churchill, Jr. (1977). A sample tip is If you needed a sport apparel would you prefer this brand if you saw it in a store longer?Brand name Brand name was measured with a four-item scale entrap in a paper by Cadogan, J. W. and Foster, B. D. (2000). A sample item is the esteemed brand name and image attract me to purchase this brandProduct Quality Prod uct quality was measured with a five-item scale found in a paper by Sproles, G.B. and Kendall, E. L. (1986). A sample item is the materials used by the brand of the sportswear are comfortablePrice Price was measured with a two-item scale found in a paper by Cadogan, J. W. and Foster, B. D. (2000). A sample item is the increased price would not hinder my purchase decisionPromotion Promotion was measured with a three-item scale found in a paper by Wong Foong Yee and Yahyah Sidek (2008) A sample item is advertisements of the brands attract me to purchase more frequently.Service quality Service quality was measured with a four-item scale found in a paper by Mittal, B. and Lassar, W.M. (1996). A sample item is the salespersons of the stores are well trained and knowledgeableStore environment Store environment was measured with a four-item scale found in a paper by Dhruv Grewal, R. Krishnan, Julie Baker, Norm Borin. A sample item is the brand has good store locations and easy to accessBra nd loyalty Brand loyalty was measured with a four-item scale found in a paper by Odin, Yorick, Nathalie N. Odin, and Pierre Valette-Florence (2001). A sample item is the brand name is the first thing I look for when I purchase sports apparelsStep 1It summarizes the results of a regression analysis using intention to purchase as the measurement variable and the six independent variables as predictor.It is clear that the independent variables are significantly related to intention to purchase of sports apparels.The values achieved are R2 = 0.374, F = 13.846, pService quality and Store environment were most significantly related to intention to purchase.Step 2It summarizes the results of a regression analysis using brand loyalty as the criterion variable and the six independent variables as predictor.Results signify that independent variables are also significantly related to brand loyalty.The values out of regression are R2 = 0.358, F = 12.913 and pService quality again was most sign ificantly related to brand loyalty.Step 3It summarizes the results of a regression analysis using intention to purchase as the criterion variable and brand loyalty and six independent variables as predictor.From the results obtained we can see that all the independent variables and brand loyalty are significantly related to intention to purchase.The values out of regression are R2 = 0.391, F = 12.650 and pBrand loyalty and store environment were more significantly related to intention to purchase than other variables.The values of beta for all the independent variables in step 1 were greater than their values in step 3. This signifies that the relationship, although still significant, is reduced in magnitude. Hence there is a partial mediation effect. Service quality was most significantly related to intention to purchase out of all the six independent variables. Price and promotion, on the other hand, were least significantly related.Discussion and ImplicationsThe current study exp lored the intention to purchase vis a vis Brand Loyalty. Brand name, Product quality, Price, Service Quality, Store environment and promotion as independent variables. The mediator here was Brand Loyalty. The study was unique in the sense that it explored the intention to purchase while considering the factors of brand loyalty. This study provides an effective tool to apparel makers while opening up a new store in the sense that it enables them to exploit the major factors to leverage upon the buyers intention to purchase by centre more on the factors which affect the Brand Loyalty the most.Among the factors of Brand Loyalty service quality emerged as the single biggest factor which partially negociate by Brand Loyalty influences the customers intention to purchase. The results entail that sales person consumer relation will more often than not result in long term association of the consumer with the brand. Also it is clear from the results obtained that users dont consider promot ion as a factor while deciding upon the apparel to purchase as it has the lowest correlation with the consumers intention to purchase. Also price considered as an important factor in previous researches emerged as another factor which is insignificant compared to other variables except for store environment. This can be explained on the basis that the consumers already have an image of the brands. This is enforced by factors like service quality, product quality etc. and the price factor is not given any weightage. There is also a second flat coat for this. This is that all the brands we included in the consideration set of the people fill up up the survey are priced similar. This is a very important result in the sense that it guides the apparel stores to provide better service. other important result which emerged was the insignificance of promotion. Promotion here comprises both advertisements plus the discounts given in the form of clearance sales, sweep stakes, coupons etc. This doesnt contribute to consumers long term brand loyalty. Although it can lead to sudden interest in consumers mind regarding the particular brand offering the discount but it certainly doesnt translate into long term brand loyalty.Brand name is another factor which emerges as a strong variable which important influences the consumers intention to purchase. Consumers tend to perceive the products from an overall perspective, associating with the brand name all the attributes and satisfaction experienced by the purchase and use of the product. But it is clear from the research that it cannot be attributed as the single biggest factor which influences the consumers brand loyalty or intention to purchase.LimitationsThe biggest limitation of the study which stems from the design of the research is the focus on the age group 18 to 30 years of age. We controlled this variable consciously to study the behavior in this age group. But the age group 30+ is a very big chunk of consumers who buy sports apparels. Taking into taradiddle their preference is bound to change certain findings in the study presented above. Another important limitation of the study is that the study doesnt explore the factors which make up the independent variables i.e. factors like promotion entail a multitude of factors like advertisements, personal selling, discounts, clearance sales and sweepstakes. All these factors in promotion and many more in factors like store environment, service quality could not be explored. This stemmed from the fact that if we had decided to explore all these factors then the questionnaire would have been very long. Another thing where the study lacks is that it doesnt explore how to obey customers. Although brand loyalty is very important factor in retention of consumers but this is not the only factor.Scope for Future ResearchThere is a lot of scope for improvements and enhancing the results obtained in the research presented. The biggest perhaps is to includ e the consumers in the age group above 30 years and above. This is because that they form a big chunk as consumers in the sports apparels. The inclusion of consumers in this age group will provide a holistic study of their preferences. Another way forward is to incorporate in the study the factors which influence the consumers to recommend the product to other. Word to word mouth is very important factor especially in the peer group in the age group of 18 30 years of age. Also as state in the limitations study we could not include the factors which make up the independent variables e.g. exploring which factors influence the most in service quality so that the store owner can concentrate on those factors more in parliamentary procedure to provide customer an enriching experience so that long term relationship between consumers and the brand.