An integrated model of retail brand equity: the role of consumer shopping experience and shopping value

Brands are valuable intangible assets with long-term benefits. In the retail industry, branding is particularly important due to the highly competitive nature of the industry. Even though previous studies have provided valuable insights on the antecedents of retail brand equity, it remains unclear how experiential and functional associations of the brands concurrently influence the dimensionality of retail brands. We propose an integrated retail brand equity model incorporating both consumer shopping experience and shopping value to broaden our understanding of the formation of consumers’ retail brand perception and its influence on retail brand equity. Data for testing our hypotheses were collected from 254 respondents. Seemingly unrelated regression is used to test the model. Our findings suggest that retailers are worth more than just the products they sell. Carrying high-quality brands is neither a necessary nor a sufficient way to enhance retail brand equity since the same product brands can be carried by multiple retailers. Several significant implications for marketing practitioners are discussed.