Loneliness caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on emotional brand attachment

Abstract

The global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus has changed everyone's lives. The drastic cuts that were implemented to control the outbreak reduced individual freedoms that had pre-viously been taken for granted. The restrictions changed social life in many ways and led to an increased incidence of mental health problems. Social isolation can cause insecurity and in-creases the level of loneliness. An unwelcome feeling arises from a lack of intimate relations with close others. This study investigates whether a lack of social interaction causes people to develop an emo-tional bond with brands. The results show that lonely people tend to adopt materialistic traits. Insecurities are compensated with the purchase of items. Additionally, social media is a relevant factor, as lonely people spend significantly more time online. Higher social media interaction influences the effect of loneliness on emotional brand attachment. An important aspect of the attachment process is the product type. Whereas a hedonic product led to a higher brand attach-ment, no effect was found for a utilitarian product. Higher emotional brand attachment leads to a loyal and satisfied customer. Therefore, it is of interest for brand managers to understand this process. In addition, the problem of increased loneliness did not only arise during the pandemic, it has already been a problem in society. Thus, the findings of this study can be used to gain a better understanding of target groups.

Date of Award	5 Jul 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	João Niza Braga (Supervisor)