Private Labels and Generation Dislo(Y)al - The impact of private labels on store loyalty within the Swedish grocery retail industry

Sammanfattning: Course: FEKN90, Degree project for Master of Science in Business and Economics (30 ECTS) Authors: Petrea Godderidge, Nicole Johansson and Lina Larsson Supervisor: Annette Cerne Key words: Generation Y, store loyalty, private labels, grocery retailer Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate what impact private labels, in relation to other store loyalty driving factors within the Swedish grocery retail industry, have on consumers within Generation Y’s store loyalty. Methodology: This study has a quantitative research strategy with a deductive research approach. The primary data was collected through a questionnaire based on a convenience sampling. Secondary research consists of relevant academic journal articles and literature. Based on previous research and theory, six hypotheses were formed. Theoretical Perspective: The theory is founded on theory and previous research within the fields of loyalty, private label and Generation Y. The central modified conceptual framework for this study is based on a conceptual framework by Vale, Matos and Caiado (2016), but has also taken influences by the conceptual frameworks by Porral and Levy-Mangin (2016) and Koschate-Fischer, Cramer and Hoyer (2014). Empirical Foundation: The collected data, which formed the empirical material, was drawn partly from a conducted pilot study, as well as a questionnaire, which was completed by 476 respondents. A majority of the respondents were students from Lund University, and all respondents were part of the generational cohort, Generation Y. Conclusions: Our findings show that private labels have a statistically significant impact on consumers within Generation Y’s store loyalty. Further, our study has derived in a new consumer orientation, value-oriented behaviour, which is inhabited by consumers within Generation Y. Lastly, our findings indicate that the main thing standing between the generational cohort and private label preference, leading up to store loyalty, is the existing perceived image of private label products, not fully aligning with Generation Y’s wanted self-image.