The relative impacts of experiential and transformational benefits on consumer-brand relationship

Purpose - This paper aims to explore and compare the roles of brand's experiential and transformational benefits in formation of consumer-brand relationships. Focusing on cosmetics consumption, the study investigates how brand's experiential benefits (brand experience) and transformational benefits (self-esteem and self-expression) could impact the strength of consumer-brand relationships. Design/methodology/approach - Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling technique. The sample consisted of 373 university students, who completed self-administered questionnaires. Findings - Results show that brand experience and self-expression have significant positive impacts on consumer-brand relationships. Brand experience plays a more important role, compared with transformational benefits, in this process. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. Research limitations/implications - Future research could study possible transformative experiences across various industries. It could also use a more divergent sample that better represents general population. Originality/value - This study is among the first in the literature to investigate the impacts of emerging sources of brand value, i.e. experiential and transformational benefits, in formation of strong consumer-brand relationships. It is also among the first to compare the predictive power of those two types of benefits in shaping brand-related outcomes.