The effect of framing on willingness to buy private brands

Abstract

Purpose This research seeks to demonstrate the effect of framing on consumers' willingness to buy private brands. Design/methodology/approach Using an experimental design, 500 participants answered a questionnaire addressed to examine their willingness to buy four private brand products framed either in positive (save) or negative (lose) terms. Findings Consumers' willingness to buy private brands was higher when the information was presented in negative (loss) framing relative to presenting the very same information in positive (save) framing. Research limitations/implications This research examined the effect of framing on willingness to buy private brands. Future research is needed to examine the effect of framing on actual purchasing behavior and regarding other products retailers wish to promote, other than private brands. Practical implications Retailers typically try and promote sales of private brands using messages suggesting that consumers will save money by buying their brand. The results of this study suggest that retailers could improve their marketing of private brands by framing their products negatively in terms of the loss consumers incur when not purchasing private brands. Originality/value The paper suggests adopting Levin et al.'s typology that distinguished between various types of framing. The typology explains apparently contradictory results found in the literature. While goal framing more accurately describes the more effective messages discussed in this study, attribute framing would better describe the more effective messages mentioned in other contexts.

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