What drives store brand purchases during crisis periods? Evidence from panel data in four product categories

Purpose This study investigates how marketing policy and consumer characteristics affect consumer choices of store brands across four product categories during specific crisis periods. Design/methodology/approach Based on a large set of panel data (N = 80,732), the authors develop dynamic choice models to assess consumers’ choices of store brands during crisis periods. Findings Key marketing variables (i.e., price, product quantity, displays, and feature promotions) and consumer characteristics both affect store brand choice significantly. However, crisis intensity moderates the unique relationships of the four marketing variables, consumer characteristics, and store brand choice. Furthermore, the findings vary across product categories, such that the effects differ depending on the product category, because consumers adopt diverse strategies to deal with difficult economic situations. Research limitations/implications The findings reveal both theoretical implications for marketing research and managerial orientations for retailers and manufacturers that hope to sell different products in challenging economic situations. A limitation of this research is its failure to include perceptual variables in the analysis. Originality/value In contrast with previous studies, this research investigates how crisis intensity affects the relationship of brand choice with both marketing variables and consumer characteristics. It also documents differences between product categories, using a panel data analysis and dynamic modelling.