Consumer‐Based Retailer Brand Equity Across Different Shopping Needs: Experimentally Analysing Sub‐Brands

ABSTRACT The current research extends the consumer‐based retailer brand equity literature by examining consumers' willingness‐to‐shop at various sub‐brands during different types of shopping trips. We experimentally tested the predictive validity of a modified scale using sub‐brands from two major retailer brands. Study 1 focused on United Kingdom consumers and examined sub‐brands of Tesco. The findings revealed a strong correlation between the scale's index and consumers' willingness‐to‐shop for both major and minor shopping trip types, as well as at Tesco Express and Extra sub‐brands. The scale's eight facets were nearly always significant across these conditions. Study 2 was conducted on consumers from the United States, and used Walmart's sub‐brands: Neighborhood Markets and Supercenters. The findings replicated those of Study 1. However, in Study 2 all eight facets of the scale were significant across all conditions. The experimental data confirms the academic relevance of the scale as a single‐factor measure across different consumer shopping goals, supporting its practical application as a standalone measurement for assessing retailer brand portfolio equity. Furthermore, all facets are essential and can provide meaningful insights for managers. The data also show that consumer‐based retailer brand equity can mediate the effects of different shopping trip types when there is a large difference in willingness‐to‐shop at the retailer sub‐brand level.