Predicting purchase intention through brand experience: New challenges and opportunities in attracting and retaining customers with an emphasis on brand attitude, trust, and attachment

With the emerging of experience economy, customer experience has been used as one of the main concepts in experiential marketing, as well as a creative basis for predicting customer purchase intention. In this context, marketing studies show that today, consumers want active participation in creating brand experiences. Therefore, interest in investigating the consequences of brand experience is increasing rapidly. However, the brand experience and its effects remain largely unknown. Considering the mediating role of brand attitude, trust, and attachment, this study investigated the effect of brand experience on purchase intention. This research is applied in terms of purpose and has a descriptive-survey nature. The studied population were consumers of beauty and personal care products in Tehran. The sample size was calculated with G-Power 3.1 software of 355 people, and the available non-probability method was used for sampling. Structural equation modeling and Smart PLS 3 software were used for data analysis. After testing the hypotheses, the direct effect of brand experience on brand attitude, trust and attachment, as well as all these variables on purchase intention, was confirmed. Likewise, the mediating role of brand attitude in the relationship between brand experience and purchase intention was confirmed, but the mediating role of trust and brand attachment was rejected. The results provide several theoretical and managerial implications to help business managers to provide a better brand while increasing sales through creating positive experiences for customers.