Consumer drivers of private label purchase intent and the mediating role of perceived purchase risk

: an analysis on beauty and personal care categories

Abstract

The retail landscape has changed considerably in the last decade. This dramatic change is partially due to the global growth of private labels, which are now a must game for any strong retailer. Private label brands provide several advantages to retailers such as competing against strong brand leaders while yielding bargaining power and offering high profitability. Hence, retailers continue to broaden their private label offerings into new product categories whilst constantly investing in quality. However, it has been a challenge to strike through in certain categories, especially the ones where product differentiation and involvement are high, and consumers identify a potential risk associated with making a wrong purchase. A particular example is Hair Care, where name brands still outperform private labels on a large scale. This entire study consists on an investigation of what drives consumers’ private label purchase intent in the Beauty and Personal Care industry, namely the categories of Hair Care and Body Care, giving a special attention to the role of perceived purchase risk. The methodology used for this investigation includes both primary and secondary data, encompassing two surveys and one interview to Sonae MC’s private label manager of Beauty and Personal Care products. Results obtained with this study suggest that Private label purchase intent is explained by different consumer traits as well as by the purchase risk associated with the product or category. In addition, perceived purchase risk plays a key role in mediating some of these relationships.

Date of Award	13 Oct 2017
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Paulo Romeiro (Supervisor) & Wilson Bastos (Co-Supervisor)