The Role of Previous Experience and Marketing Policy on Consumer Behaviour Towards Different Private Label Categories

Abstract

This paper analyses the role of previous experience and marketing policy in explaining consumer behavior towards Private labels (PLs) in expansion and crisis. In order to do this, several multinomial logit (MNL) models using purchase records from scanner data in two categories (butter and yoghurt) are estimated. Our results highlight that previous experience is relevant in explaining purchasing behaviour for the local origin PL in expansion; however, during crisis period, previous experience seems to be relevant for both standard PL and local origin PL. Retailers, therefore, should no longer manage PLs as a homogeneous range of products. In addition, retailers are advised to carefully monitor the macro-economic situation, as the relationships between PL purchasing behavior and its antecedents strongly differ during expansion and crisis situations