EMOTIONAL TRIGGERS AND BRAND LOYALTY: UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Abstract

Functional attributes alone may not be effective enough to attract and maintain consumers in very competitive and saturated markets, with the brand creating more and more emotional appeals to customers. Emotional appeals, like trust, nostalgia, happiness, fear, excitement, and a feeling of belonging, are vital to influencing consumer perceptions and their purchasing decisions as well as long-term brand loyalty. The conventional consumer behaviour models focused on rational consumer behaviour in terms of price, quality and utility. Nevertheless, recent studies emphasize emotions play a major role in influencing consumer judgment and action which are often unconscious resulting in a close and long-lasting brand relationship.