Abstract

In the last years, there has been a proliferation of Private Labels (PLs) and a strategic change in the way retailers conceive and manage this kind of tool. From an instrument devoted to underline the price convenience orientation of retailers, today PLs are articulated in different tiers (economy, standard and premium) and have become a tool to give a good quality option to customers, improving their loyalty and differentiating from competitors. In this context, the paper focuses on a specific PLs tier, Premium Private Labels (PPLs), given the high growth rates, current and perspective, they present. Specifically, the study aims at investigating the drivers of PPLs consumer buying intention. Results derived by the Structural Equation Model employed on a dataset of 211 questionnaires collected by administering a survey on a sample of actual buyers of PPL products show that perceived product quality, label consciousness and the PPL familiarity exert a positive impact on attitude towards PPL products. Conversely, retail customers do not choose a PPL product to conform to others. Moreover, although the increasing extension of the PPL assortment with Geographical Indications, no significant effect was found between the PPLs products branded with a PDO/PGI (Protected Designation of Origin/Protected Geographical Indication) label and attitude towards PPLs. Finally, findings show that the higher the level of consumer familiarity to the PPL, the higher the intention to buy PPL products. These results offer relevant implications from a marketing and strategical viewpoint, providing valuable insights for practitioners and scholars.

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