Evolving the Private Label Role in the Retailer-Customer Relationship: Antecedents and Impact of Premium Private Labels on Customer Loyalty to the Retailer

The chapter focuses on the role played by Private Labels (PLs) in the retailer-consumer relationship. Specifically, the results of a survey aimed at investigating the ability of a specific kind of PL, namely Premium Private Label (PPL), to improve customer loyalty to the retailer are presented. After reviewing the literature on the PLs' role in the retailer-customer relationship, a theoretical model is proposed and tested by administering a questionnaire to a sample of retail customers and then applying structural equation modeling. Four key components of PPLs' image, namely quality, assortment, access, and value, are studied as antecedents of customer satisfaction to the PPL, while customer loyalty to the PPL is considered as a mediator between customer satisfaction to the PPL and customer loyalty to the retailer. Results show that PPLs positively impact on customer loyalty to the retailer through a causal relationship driven by PPL quality and PPL value.