Is love online or offline? Brand experience, brand love and brand equity in a fashion retail store

Abstract

Purpose: This paper examines the contribution of brand experience to brand equity, by fostering a specific and strong emotional response to a brand – brand love. Specifically, it investigates possible differences between online and offline settings of fashion retail brand. Design/methodology/approach: Based on 794 consumers’ responses to a questionnaire (560 offline consumers and 294 online consumers), the research goals were achieved and hypotheses were tested using a structural equation model. Findings: The findings show that brand experience is important when it comes to stimulate emotional responses, namely brand love, which in turn contributes to reinforce brand equity. The differences between the offline and online settings are striking, since only the sensory dimension of brand experience is negatively associated with brand love. Research limitations: The results are limited to one specific fashion retail brand and generalizations should be taken carefully. Practical implications: Managers should pay particular attention to the emotional stimuli a brand offers to consumers. Building on these stimuli through experiences enhances strong emotional responses, contributing to the brand equity. Originality/value: Research on the paths to brand equity in a retail environment, by examining online and offline settings, are still scarce. Specifically, tracing this path by combining brand experience and brand love, within the framework of the customer-brand relationship theory, has an interesting potential but is still underdeveloped.