IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joreco/v34y2017icp340-348.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of consumers' attitude towards economic climate in their reaction to ‘PL-only’ assortments: Evidence from the United States and Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Gázquez-Abad, Juan Carlos
  • Martínez-López, Francisco J.
  • Esteban-Millat, Irene

Abstract

Retailers’ assortment rationalisation strategies have found an “ally†in the current global economic crisis. Indeed, retail boycotts of individual brands in economic recession contexts are not uncommon in the CPG industry. In fact, many of the consumers who began buying PLs during the economic recession are continuing their PL behaviour post-recession. So, what is the role of the economic climate in consumers’ reaction– in terms of store loyalty – to retailers’ NB delisting decisions? Is it so relevant? This paper examines how consumers’ attitude towards the economic climate influences his/her reaction to retailers’ strategy of offering ‘PL-only’ assortments in the context of an economic slump (Spain) compared to a context of economic recovery (U.S.). To do so, we have designed a controlled online experiment for two large consumer panels in the Spanish and the U.S. markets. Our results suggest that consumers’ acceptance of ‘PL-only’ assortments is a separate phenomenon rather than merely being a “consequence†of the current economic situation. Nevertheless, in an economic recovery, such ‘PL-only’ assortments do not appear to be the best strategy.

Suggested Citation

  • Gázquez-Abad, Juan Carlos & Martínez-López, Francisco J. & Esteban-Millat, Irene, 2017. "The role of consumers' attitude towards economic climate in their reaction to ‘PL-only’ assortments: Evidence from the United States and Spain," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 340-348.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:34:y:2017:i:c:p:340-348
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2016.07.012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698916303149
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretconser.2016.07.012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. González-Benito, Óscar & Martos-Partal, Mercedes, 2012. "Role of Retailer Positioning and Product Category on the Relationship Between Store Brand Consumption and Store Loyalty," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 236-249.
    2. Hampson, Daniel P. & McGoldrick, Peter J., 2013. "A typology of adaptive shopping patterns in recession," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(7), pages 831-838.
    3. Amrouche, Nawel & Zaccour, Georges, 2007. "Shelf-space allocation of national and private brands," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 180(2), pages 648-663, July.
    4. Wiebach, Nicole & Hildebrandt, Lutz, 2012. "Explaining customers' switching patterns to brand delisting," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 1-10.
    5. Bart J. Bronnenberg & Luc Wathieu, 1996. "Asymmetric Promotion Effects and Brand Positioning," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(4), pages 379-394.
    6. Sanjay K. Dhar & Stephen J. Hoch, 1997. "Why Store Brand Penetration Varies by Retailer," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(3), pages 208-227.
    7. Sharad Borle & Peter Boatwright & Joseph B. Kadane & Joseph C. Nunes & Shmueli Galit, 2005. "The Effect of Product Assortment Changes on Customer Retention," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(4), pages 616-622, July.
    8. Volpe, Richard, 2011. "The Relationship Between National Brand and Private Label Food Products: Prices, Promotions, Recessions, and Recoveries," Economic Research Report 262234, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    9. Kaytaz, Mehmet & Gul, Misra C., 2014. "Consumer response to economic crisis and lessons for marketers: The Turkish experience," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 2701-2706.
    10. Ngobo, Paul-Valentin, 2011. "Private label share, branding strategy and store loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 259-270.
    11. Robert L. Steiner, 2004. "The Nature and Benefits of National Brand/Private Label Competition," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 24(2), pages 105-127, March.
    12. Sloot, Laurens M. & Verhoef, Peter C., 2008. "The Impact of Brand Delisting on Store Switching and Brand Switching Intentions," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 84(3), pages 281-296.
    13. Pentecost, Robin & Andrews, Lynda, 2013. "The importance of importance: Its impact on decision-making in mall retail categories during an economic downturn," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 463-470.
    14. Cravens, David W., 1974. "Marketing management in an era of shortages," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 79-85, February.
    15. K. Sudhir & Debabrata Talukdar, 2004. "Does Store Brand Patronage Improve Store Patronage?," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 24(2), pages 143-160, March.
    16. Stephen J. Hoch & Eric T. Bradlow & Brian Wansink, 1999. "The Variety of an Assortment," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(4), pages 527-546.
    17. Dekimpe, Marnik G. & Gielens, Katrijn & Raju, Jagmohan & Thomas, Jacquelyn S., 2011. "Strategic Assortment Decisions in Information-Intensive and Turbulent Environments," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 87(S1), pages 17-28.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maksymilian Czeczotko & Hanna Górska-Warsewicz & Wacław Laskowski & Barbara Rostecka, 2021. "Towards Sustainable Private Labels in an Autonomous Community during COVID-19—Analysis of Consumer Behavior and Perception on the Example of Tenerife," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-22, July.
    2. Fuduric, Morana & Varga, Akos & Horvat, Sandra & Skare, Vatroslav, 2022. "The ways we perceive: A comparative analysis of manufacturer brands and private labels using implicit and explicit measures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 221-241.
    3. Hanna Górska-Warsewicz & Sylwia Żakowska-Biemans & Maksymilian Czeczotko & Monika Świątkowska & Dagmara Stangierska & Ewa Świstak & Agnieszka Bobola & Julita Szlachciuk & Karol Krajewski, 2018. "Organic Private Labels as Sources of Competitive Advantage—The Case of International Retailers Operating on the Polish Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-28, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gázquez-Abad, Juan Carlos & Martínez-López, Francisco J. & Sethuraman, Raj, 2021. "What factors moderate the effect of assortment reduction on store switching? Insights and implications for grocery brands," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 98-115.
    2. Raj Sethuraman, 2009. "Assessing the External Validity of Analytical Results from National Brand and Store Brand Competition Models," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(4), pages 759-781, 07-08.
    3. Kaswengi, Joseph & Diallo, Mbaye Fall, 2015. "Consumer choice of store brands across store formats: A panel data analysis under crisis periods," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 70-76.
    4. Groznik, Ana & Heese, H. Sebastian, 2010. "Supply chain interactions due to store-brand introductions: The impact of retail competition," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 203(3), pages 575-582, June.
    5. González-Benito, Óscar & Martos-Partal, Mercedes, 2012. "Role of Retailer Positioning and Product Category on the Relationship Between Store Brand Consumption and Store Loyalty," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 236-249.
    6. Deleersnyder, B. & Dekimpe, M.G. & Steenkamp, J.E.B.M. & Koll, O., 2007. "Win-win strategies at discount stores," Other publications TiSEM 34fbe624-0ee7-4c52-b640-7, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    7. Fornari, Daniele & Fornari, Edoardo & Grandi, Sebastiano & Menegatti, Mario, 2016. "Leading national brands facing store brands competition: Is price competitiveness the only thing that matters?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 234-241.
    8. İpek, İlayda & Aşkın, Nilay & İlter, Burcu, 2016. "Private label usage and store loyalty: The moderating impact of shopping value," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 72-79.
    9. Gabrielsen, Tommy Staahl & Sorgard, Lars, 2007. "Private labels, price rivalry, and public policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 403-424, February.
    10. Assarzadegan, Parisa & Hejazi, Seyed Reza, 2021. "A game theoretic approach for analyzing the competition between national and store brands by considering store loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    11. Miquel-Romero, Maria José & Caplliure-Giner, Eva María & Adame-Sánchez, Consolación, 2014. "Relationship marketing management: Its importance in private label extension," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 667-672.
    12. Doris Morales-Solana & Irene Esteban-Millat & Alejandro Alegret Cotas, 2022. "Experiences in consumer flow in online supermarkets," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1195-1226, December.
    13. Vakeel, Khadija Ali & Fudurić, Morana & Malthouse, Edward C., 2021. "Extending variety seeking to multi-sided platforms: Impact of new retailer listing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    14. Lourenço, Carlos J.S. & Gijsbrechts, Els, 2013. "The impact of national brand introductions on hard-discounter image and share-of-wallet," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 368-382.
    15. Dekimpe, Marnik G. & Gielens, Katrijn & Raju, Jagmohan & Thomas, Jacquelyn S., 2011. "Strategic Assortment Decisions in Information-Intensive and Turbulent Environments," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 87(S1), pages 17-28.
    16. Wiebach, Nicole & Hildebrandt, Lutz, 2012. "Explaining customers' switching patterns to brand delisting," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 1-10.
    17. Jan-Benedict E. M. Steenkamp & Inge Geyskens, 2014. "Manufacturer and Retailer Strategies to Impact Store Brand Share: Global Integration, Local Adaptation, and Worldwide Learning," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(1), pages 6-26, January.
    18. Sckokai, Paolo & Soregaroli, Claudio, 2008. "Impact of private label development across retail formats: Evidences from the Italian dairy market," Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies - Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement (RAEStud), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 87(2).
    19. Sloot, Laurens M. & Verhoef, Peter C., 2008. "The Impact of Brand Delisting on Store Switching and Brand Switching Intentions," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 84(3), pages 281-296.
    20. Abril, Carmen & Sanchez, Joaquin, 2016. "Will they return? Getting private label consumers to come back: Price, promotion, and new product effects," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 109-116.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:34:y:2017:i:c:p:340-348. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing-and-consumer-services .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.