Search Results (28)

With the rapid development of the digital economy and the evolving shopping preferences of consumers, e-commerce platforms have been enhancing their competitiveness by launching private label brands and optimizing their sales channel strategies. This study focuses on an online sales system comprising a strong brand and an e-commerce platform. Four game modes were constructed: agency selling only (NN), agency selling combined with reselling (NS), agency selling combined with private labels (IN), and reselling combined with agency selling under the introduction of private labels (IS). Under the coupon promotion strategy, this study focused on the introduction strategy for private labels (PLs) and the selection strategy for platform sales modes. Our research produced the following findings: (1) Regardless of whether the platform introduces its own brand, adopting a reselling mode can significantly enhance the profits of both the brand owner and platform. (2) Irrespective of whether the reselling mode is implemented, the platform’s profits are always increased when introducing its own brand. (3) When the coupon redemption rate is higher, the brand owner achieves greater profitability in the absence of PL introduction. Conversely, when the coupon redemption rate is low, an increase in the commission rate leads to reduced profit margins for the brand owner due to competition from a private label. (4) When the coupon redemption and commission rate are both high, the coupon face value without a PL is larger. Otherwise, when these rates are both low, the coupon face value is higher under the introduction of a PL. This study offers a theoretical foundation and decision-making support for e-commerce platforms to optimize sales mode selection, introduce private-label brands, and develop coupon strategies. Full article

This paper analyzes how consumer preferences for eco-friendly private labels affect platform selling formats and manufacturer channel strategies. We construct a game-theoretic model that encompasses both an e-commerce platform and a manufacturer. In this model, the platform chooses its selling format—either wholesale or agency—while the manufacturer determines whether to launch an online direct channel. Our analysis takes into account consumer preferences for both product brands and sales channels. We compare and analyze the equilibrium outcomes across four different scenarios, leading to the following conclusions: (1) When the platform utilizes the wholesale selling format, the manufacturer is consistently motivated to launch the direct channel if the costs associated with it are low. Conversely, when the platform employs the agency selling format, the manufacturer’s decision to establish an online direct marketing channel depends on the relative strength of consumers’ eco-friendly and channel preferences. (2) The platform’s choice of selling format is affected by the manufacturer’s channel strategy, leading the platform to modify its selling format based on varying manufacturer channel approaches. (3) The choices of the platform’s selling format and the manufacturer’s channel strategy are not always in conflict. When consumer preferences for the manufacturer’s direct channel are strong and the cost of introducing it is moderate, the platform’s decision to adopt the agency selling format can create a win-win outcome for both the platform and the manufacturer. And the establishment of online channels by manufacturers further enhances the sustainable growth of eco-friendly products. Full article

Against the backdrop of an increasingly sound supply chain system and thriving e-commerce, it is becoming increasingly common for retailers to introduce their own brands of products and for manufacturers to open up direct online sales channels. The existence of these two supply chain decisions is complex and involves interactions. Moreover, the introduction of online direct sales channels will bring about differences in prices and service quality between channels, resulting in a free-riding effect on the internet. However, existing related research rarely considers the role of network free-riding effect in this supply chain system. This article integrates the network free-riding effect into the supply chain model by setting the network free-riding rate. According to whether retailers introduce their own brand products and manufacturers open up online direct sales channels, four supply chain scenarios are formed, and the reverse recursion method is used to obtain the profit functions for each of these four scenarios. Then, a Stackelberg game model is established to determine the response strategies of manufacturers and retailers based on the changes in profits of manufacturers caused by retailer decisions and the changes in profits of retailers caused by manufacturer decisions. Through analysis, it was discovered that a key factor affecting decision-making within the supply chain system is the retailer’s channel advantage. When the channel advantage of retailers is strong, manufacturers will open up online direct sales channels to weaken the channel advantage of retailers. Retailers will not introduce their own brand products but are more inclined to cooperate with manufacturers. When the channel advantage of retailers is weak, retailers will attract consumers and consolidate their channel advantage by introducing high-quality, low-priced private label products, while manufacturers will maintain cooperation with retailers and adopt a strategy of not opening up online direct sales channels. We also analyzed the Nash equilibrium state under different channel advantages of retailers. Full article

The rapid advancement of digital technology has blurred the line between online and brick-and-mortar stores, leading to the proliferation of omnichannel retailing. Two widely adopted strategies are Buy Online and Pick Up in Store (BOPS) and Ship from Store (SFS). This study examines a supply chain where a manufacturer sells national brand products through an e-commerce platform (e-platform) that also offers its own brand products. We analyze the optimal omnichannel strategies for both the e-platform and the manufacturer, considering scenarios of cooperation and brand competition, across four strategy combinations. Our findings highlight that the profits of both the e-platform and manufacturer are primarily influenced by the commission rate, product category valuation and competition intensity. The commission rate plays a pivotal role in shaping the e-platform’s strategy: a low rate leads to direct competition with the manufacturer, while a high rate prioritizes the manufacturer’s products. When the spillover profit is less than the net difference between the customer’s additional benefits and the firm’s additional costs for SFS compared to BOPS, and the commission rate is high, an equilibrium is achieved. Sensitivity analyses reveal that as the product differentiation decrease, the manufacturer’s profits decline, while the e-platform’s profits rise with an increasing commission rate. Full article

While policies targeting education in schools, marketing campaigns, and taxation strategies are of great importance to tackle our population’s malnutrition, there is growing concern about enhancing the supermarket environment to promote healthier food consumption. Public and private policies targeting the food retail sector can contribute to achieving this goal. Supermarkets play a significant role in presenting food options. As gatekeepers of the food system’s impact on consumers’ health, they have the power to help people make better food choices. Examples include making healthy checkouts and nudging consumption of vegetables through infographics. Currently, few policies specify how supermarkets’ environments could be set up to improve healthy purchases (e.g., the “Partnership for a healthy diet” in Norway and “hange4Life Convenience Stores” in the UK). Furthermore, we see recent shifts in the policy agendas of countries like Germany and Argentina, with new nutrition behavioural policies being legislated and implemented. However, we lack general guidelines that unify the available information on this topic. Addressing this gap has the potential to guide future supermarket policy recommendations. We will perform a review and delve deeper to search for governmental policies and policies of major supermarket brands in selected countries (i.e., Germany and Argentina) to taxonomize the policy initiatives, examining their projects and campaigns designed to improve supermarket environments and encourage consumers to choose healthy options. We will harvest sources published since the release of the SDGs (2015), from ScienceDirect, the FAO policy search engine Informas, and the NOURISHING platform. We will identify the grey literature by searching related websites and databases as well as national government pages or private supermarket policy documents. We will extract the information relevant to policymaking to improve environments in terms of product reformulation, labelling strategies, placement, product processes, and sweet beverage representation. While spotting incentive, procurement, and regulative policies, we will group them in terms of interventions and further taxonomize the different approaches/initiatives. Our objective is to provide unified policy recommendations by leveraging existing experiences and policies and designing applicable recommendations to improve the food environment in supermarkets. Furthermore, we aim to promote the creation of science-based policies that consider these recommendations. Full article

Currently, given the different dynamics of competition, food retailers are increasingly betting on private labels as a strategy of differentiation and retention of competitive advantages. To this extent, this study aims to assess the antecedents of the purchase intention of food retailers’ private labels, as well as to understand the managerial practices and (post) pandemic consumption retail perspective in a Portuguese context. The results obtained, through a quantitative analysis by means of multiple linear regressions, on a random sample of customers (n = 300) indicate that customer satisfaction and attitude towards his/her own brand are quite favourable, as demonstrated by the existence of a high loyalty to his/her own brand. Additionally, they reveal that the purchase experience, the private-label image, the perceived risk, and the COVID-19 pandemic are prior attitudes towards the private label and its mediation in the purchase intention and recommendation of its products. Finally, loyalty to the private label, store satisfaction and, through these, also the shopping experience were confirmed as determinants of loyalty. These results provide insights to food retailers on aspects to be improved and considered in the design of commercial strategies that promote the intention to purchase private-label products and that win and retain customers and achieve competitive advantages and profitability. Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the study reveals that some consumers changed their purchasing patterns, choosing to buy more private-label products at this stage. Full article

As retail management has become increasingly demanding, it is imperative that retailers use market orientation to promote and increase loyalty to their private labels. This can be important in efforts to differentiate themselves from their competition. The focus of this study is to understand how these factors impact the loyalty of customer purchase decisions, through the link between the potential for brand risk and brand commitment, in order to facilitate customer orientation and brand loyalty. An online survey was conducted with a sample of 2900 consumers in Portugal and Spain. This study analyzed two distinct and high involvement product categories: Denomination of Origin (DOC) wine and anti-wrinkle cream. Structural equation modeling methodology was used to analyze the relationship between different constructs. It was found that there is no direct correlation between customer orientation and brand loyalty. However, this connection is critical when the two mediating variables of brand risk and brand commitment are accounted for. Another important finding relates to the values and differences identified between the two product categories. The results obtained show the importance of risk and commitment for high involvement products. In practice, this justifies brands explicitly managing these factors, because they can translate into loyalty behaviors. The results also contribute to demystifying the market for more complex products, particularly when the choice and risk process is more complex. Full article

Private-label cigarettes are cigarettes that belong to the retailer itself. Private-label cigarettes from discounters or supermarkets are cheaper than brand-name cigarettes, and their lower price has allowed them to garner an ever-increasing share of the tobacco product market, especially among lower socioeconomic groups. Particulate matter (PM), a considerable component of air pollution, is a substantial health-damaging factor. Smoking is the primary source of PM in smokers’ homes. In a 2.88 m³ measuring chamber, the PM emission fractions PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and PM₁ from three private-label cigarette brands and three brand-name cigarette brands with identical nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide content were measured and compared to those of a reference cigarette by laser aerosol spectroscopy. All cigarette brands emitted PM in health-threatening quantities. The measurement results ranged from 1394 µg/m³ to 1686 µg/m³ PM₁₀, 1392 µg/m³ to 1682 µg/m³ PM_2.5, and 1355 µg/m³ to 1634 µg/m³ PM₁, respectively. Only one private-label brand differed significantly (p < 0.001) from the other cigarette brands, which were tested with slightly lower PM levels. All other brands differed only marginally (not significant, p > 0.05) from one another. Significant (p < 0.05) negative correlations between private-label and brand-name cigarettes were found for PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and PM₁ when accounting for tobacco filling densities, and for PM₁ when accounting for filter lengths. The especially health-hazardous fraction PM₁ accounted for the largest proportion of PM emissions from the cigarettes tested. The results of this study suggest that- cheaper tobacco products are as harmful as more expensive ones, at least regarding PM emissions. This highlights the importance of anti-smoking campaigns, especially for lower socioeconomic groups, where smoking is more widespread. Governments should reduce the price gap between cheap and more expensive tobacco products by implementing specific tobacco taxes. In such a case, at increasing prices of tobacco products, a downward shift to private-label cigarettes would probably decrease. Full article

The growing concern for food safety and quality motivates governments and private sectors to improve consumers’ confidence in food systems, such as through adopting certifications and traceability systems. The recent emergence of diverse food labelling schemes and the turbulence in food systems in emerging countries have sparked questions about consumers’ valuation of such labels. Nonetheless, little is known on how the familiarity with, trust in and knowledge of these food labelling schemes affect consumers’ willingness to pay for labelling schemes in emerging market contexts. This study aims to address these literature gaps by investigating consumers’ valuation of existing certifications, branding and traceability labelling schemes in Vietnam. A face-to-face survey was conducted, including a discrete choice experiment on water spinach in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The findings indicated that Vietnamese consumers are generally willing to pay price premia for food labelling schemes, such as VietGAP certification, EU and USDA organic certifications, private branding and traceable Quick Response (QR) coding. While familiarity and understanding had no significant impact on Vietnamese consumers’ valuation, trust was found to be a critical factor shaping willingness to pay for products bearing VietGAP label. Policy implications and marketing strategies for organic certifications and traceability schemes in Vietnam are discussed. Full article

This study aimed to analyze the international literature on consumer behavior toward private label (PL) products, guided by the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) method. We searched for peer-reviewed studies published until January 2021 in the Scopus and Web of Science databases using two main search terms, namely, “consumer behavior” and “private label,” which have several synonymous terms, such as “store brand,” “private brand,” and “own label.” A total of 44 eligible studies were selected for the analysis. We formulated research questions regarding the most studied categories of PL products, the non-health factors determining consumer behavior toward PL products, and the frequency of including health aspects in the choice of PL products. The following were analyzed in the studies included in the systematic literature review (SLR): general data and study design (authorship, year of publication, location, characteristics of the sample, and research category), research specifications (factors/variables, hypotheses, and measured parameters), and general findings (findings and practical recommendations). We found that most of the studies had analyzed dairy products as PL products, and the main non-health selection factors used were lower price and price–quality ratios. Health aspects were considered in only four of the analyzed studies, which focused on the evolution of PL products from low-cost products to sustainable brands with significant added value in terms of quality and health aspects. Full article

The involvement of companies in different open innovation activities, through knowledge outputs and inputs, has become increasingly important for the success of companies. However, the existing literature on open innovation is scarce concerning the internationalization process of companies. The internationalization of companies is fundamental in the continuous search to increase the performance of companies externally. The objective of the present research is to explain the strategic processes in the internationalization of companies located in peripheral regions at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of dynamic capabilities. The sample used for this research is composed of seven Portuguese companies. The methodology of qualitative nature is exploratory and uses a case study approach. Regarding the foremost modes of operation in international markets and strategies, we find that (1) companies have partnerships with local distributors or appoint exclusive importers/distributors, and (2) companies prefer to place their products in the market through their brand, “co-branded” projects with retailers, or “private label” projects. Of the seven companies under study, six use a standardization strategy, and one opts for a configuration-coordination strategy. Our findings clarified the literature on export and internationalization strategies in a peripheral country, allowing a closer incept of the organizational and dynamic capabilities and an overview of the supporting tools these companies have to compete in the global market. Our study is original because few articles study the internationalization strategies of companies at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and in peripheral regions of Europe. Full article

We aimed to compare New Zealand private label (PL) and branded label (BL) packaged food products in relation to their current (2019) healthiness (sodium and sugar contents, and estimated Health Star Rating (HSR) score), display of the voluntary HSR nutrition label on the package, and price. Healthiness and HSR display of products were also explored over time (2015 to 2019). Data were obtained from Nutritrack, a brand-specific food composition database. Means and proportions were compared using Student t-tests and Pearson chi-square tests, respectively. Changes over time were assessed using linear regression and chi-square tests for trends (Mantel–Haenzel tests). Altogether, 4266 PL and 19,318 BL products across 21 food categories were included. Overall, PL products in 2019 had a significantly lower mean sodium content and price, a higher proportion of products with estimated HSR ≥ 3.5/5 (48.9% vs. 38.5%) and were more likely to display the HSR on the pack compared with BL products (92.4% vs. 17.2%, respectively). However, for most food categories, no significant difference was found in mean sodium or sugar content between PL and BL products. In the period 2015–2019, there were no consistent changes in estimated HSR score, sodium or sugar contents of PL or BL products, but there was an increase in the proportion of both PL and BL products displaying HSR labels. In most food categories, there were PL options available which were similar in nutritional composition, more likely to be labelled with the HSR, and lower in cost than their branded counterparts. Full article

Our study aimed to analyze consumer behavior and perception towards private labels (PLs) in Tenerife as an autonomous community during COVID-19, with special attention given to sustainability aspects. The research was conducted on a sample of 500 adults purchasing PLs using quota selection and the CAWI method. We formulated four research questions related to factors of PL choice, the relationship between frequency of PL purchases, consumers’ age and income, perceived changes in PLs, and evaluation of PL products including sustainability. The latter research question referred to such product characteristics as local and environmentally friendly production, organic production, and production according to traditional technologies using only natural ingredients. For a detailed analysis of consumer behavior, we used Pearson’s chi-square test, the rho-Spearman correlation coefficient, and cluster analysis. The most important factors for purchasing PL products were lower prices compared to leading brands, attachment to a given chain, and the feeling of safety and trust in PL products. The frequency of purchase of PL food products, except for alcohol, significantly negatively correlates with age, which means that the purchase of PLs from the analyzed product categories decreases with age. The increased availability and improved image and quality of PLs were identified as the most important changes in PLs. PL food products were rated by consumers as fresh, minimally processed and with quality certificates. Environmentally friendly production methods, nutritional value, and origin from an area close to home were also indicated. Full article

Many retailers have expanded and diversified their private label food product assortment by offering premium-quality private label food products such as organic products. With price being identified as the major barrier for organic food purchases, private label organic food products could be a suitable and more affordable alternative for many consumers. While numerous studies have examined consumer preferences for organic food, very few organic food studies have incorporated the concept of private labels. This study addresses this research gap by studying consumer preferences and willingness to pay for national brand and private label organic food using a latent class model. Specifically, this study analyzes consumer preferences for organic eggs and orange juice and the effect of national branding versus private label. Findings show heterogeneity in consumer preferences for production method and brand, with three consumer segments being identified based on their preferences for both juice and eggs. For eggs, about half of the consumers prefer private label and organic production, whereas one-quarter clearly prefers organic, and another quarter is indifferent about the brand and the organic production. For orange juice, the majority (75%) prefer the national brand. In addition, one-quarter of the consumers prefers organic juice, and about one-third values both organic and the national brand. Full article

The present paper is focused on the issues of private labels, their establishment, perception and preference by selected groups of respondents, namely consumers under the age of 25 and also inhabitants of selected V4 countries (Slovakia, Hungary and Czech Republic). An anonymous questionnaire survey was chosen as the main research method. A total of 3038 respondents aged under 25 participated—1064 respondents were from Slovakia, 973 from Hungary and 1001 from Czech Republic. This research method was subsequently supplemented with selected statistical methods evaluated in the XL Stat statistical program, SAS Enterprise Guide 7.1 and SAS 9.4, where hypotheses were examined by Pearson’s Chi-Square Test, Mantel–Haenszel Chi-square test, Cramer’s V contingency coefficient, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, Friedman’s test, Kruskal–Wallis test, Correspondence analysis and Phi Coefficient. The results of the survey can be perceived more than positively as most of the respondents declared that they knew the concept of private labels; more than 80% of respondents buy them either regularly or sporadically; just over 32% of respondents explicitly prefer them in their purchases and in terms of the perception of the quality, almost 75% of respondents think the quality of private label products is comparable to that of traditional brands. Full article