Retail store branding in Turkey: its effect on perceived quality, satisfaction and loyalty

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to build and test a model of the impact of a store brand name on perceptions of service quality and on customer satisfaction, the latter being the driver of perceived quality or at least a key determinant. It also aims to examine the role of all three variables in the generation of customer loyalty to a store brand. Design/methodology/approach - Data collected by questionnaire from 490 customers of three furniture stores in one city in Turkey were analysed by structural equation modelling, to test and measure the interrelationships in the specified model. Findings - Results suggest that both perceived service quality and customer satisfaction are influenced by a store's brand name, that the former is influenced by the latter, and that a positive perception of service quality (but not the level of customer satisfaction) contributes to the development of store loyalty. Research limitations/implications - Because the model was tested on customers of three stores in one city in one country, and the mediating influence of price was not investigated, the findings can be generalised only with due caution. Further studies could focus on individual causal relationships within the model, build in price as a variable, collect data more widely, stratify the sample, compare different types of store, and extend the investigation into other areas of retailing and services in general. Practical implications - The store brand name has a direct, positive relationship with perceived service quality and customer satisfaction. Retailers with a strong and well maintained branding strategy should therefore gain considerable competitive advantage, provided marketing tactics and communications reinforce brand values rather than diluting or contradicting them, over time. Originality/value - Successful store-name branding is very likely to provoke competitive responses. Retail marketing strategists therefore need a means to the end of understanding the consumption behaviour of target customers, especially in economies and societies broadly comparable to Turkey's.