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An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article.
Introduction
The importance of store brands in fast moving consumer goods marketing has increased throughout recent years. There are various reasons for this development. Retailers expect increased store loyalty ([6] Corstjens and Lal, 2000) and to become less dependent on the national brand manufacturers by using store brands ([20] Mills, 1995; [22] Narasimhan and Wilcox, 1998). Store brands usually lead to higher unit margins and allow the retailer to cover the "low-price" tier within the range of goods ([23] Pauwels and Srinivasan, 2004).
Before a store brand increases customer loyalty, many steps in the process have to be completed. The customer must notice the product, develop some kind of interest, try the product the first time, become satisfied and then develop a preference which creates loyalty to the retailer. During this process the first trial of a store brand is most critical. Accordingly, from a marketing perspective, knowledge about factors influencing the first willingness to buy a new store brand is essential for product development and positioning. However, current literature mostly concentrates on success factors of existing store brands, independent of their novelty. We close this gap by analyzing variables influencing the trial of new store brands. We will shed some light on these variables, answering the following questions:
Which factors influence the willingness to buy a new store brand?
Do these factors differ between product groups?
Which factors have the largest impact on customers' willingness to buy?
Which management implications arise from the results?
The remainder of this article is organized in line with these questions. First, we discuss the current state of research, from which we derive hypotheses about the determinants of customers' willingness to buy new store brands. Next, an empirical survey tests these hypotheses, answering the aforementioned questions. Finally, the paper closes with a summary of results and a discussion of management implications.
Definition and systemization of store brands
According to [27] Schutte (1969) store brands are "products owned and branded by organizations whose primary economic commitment is distribution rather than production." Store brands are produced by a retailer himself or according to his instructions and are sold under his name or label in...