Brand loyalty among low-income consumers?
ISSN: 1352-2752
Article publication date: 5 October 2020
Issue publication date: 22 March 2021
Abstract
Purpose
Low-income consumers (LICs) have gained more attention from marketers after Prahalad and Hart (2004) called attention to untapped opportunities among the world’s poorest. Once neglected and seen as price-driven, more recent research has depicted LICs as brand-conscious consumers who are willing to pay a premium for quality. However, because LICs must balance their tight budgets with aspirations for branded items, this perspective may be too optimistic. To address this issue, the purpose of this paper is to investigate brand consideration and loyalty among LICs across a wide range of products.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a qualitative-inductive approach to assess LICs’ brand considerations across ten fast-moving consumer goods. In-depth interviews with 20 Brazilian LICs were conducted.
Findings
The authors found that brand loyalty among LICs is both context- and category-dependent. Patterns of loyalty are influenced by five factors: perceived differentiation, perceived risk, contextual usage, proportion of the category expenditure to household income and hedonic vs functional consumption. It seems that the interplay of these factors ultimately shapes differently the attitudes and repeated patronage of brands within each category among LICs.
Research limitations/implications
Generalizability of findings is limited owing to the qualitative method used.
Practical implications
The authors provide practical insights to managers concerning key attributes that influence brand consideration and loyalty among LICs.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the yet limited knowledge on LICs and provides a deeper and more holistic understanding of the relation of LICs with brands.
Keywords
Citation
Costa Filho, M.C., Falcao, R.P.Q. and Motta, P.C.d.M. (2021), "Brand loyalty among low-income consumers?", Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 260-280. https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-07-2019-0080
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited