Contents
Title
The Impact of Brand Nostalgia on Purchase Intention among Gen Y
Author
Stefanie Jensen, Martin Ohlwein
Classification JEL
M31, C12.
Abstract
In many cases, a brand’s past positively influences a consumer’s attitudes, preferences and ultimately brand choice. Nevertheless, the psychographic profile of Gen Y, viz. people born between the early 1980s and the turn of the millennium, raises the question whether personal and historical memories related to a brand as well as perceived brand oldness are important for this market segment as well. More so than their predecessors, this generation is characterized by materialism and a desire for technology and innovation. Therefore, this paper examines the impact of brand nostalgia on brand trust, brand authenticity and finally purchase intention among Gen Y. Three product segments (fruit gums, lingerie, and skin cream) and a nostalgic/non-nostalgic brand pair for each acted as a stimulus in a study with 330 randomly-selected college students as representatives for Gen Y. Results suggest that brand nostalgia significantly influences brand trust, brand authenticity as well as purchase intention. Furthermore, personal rather than historical experience plays a key role in Gen Y. Therefore, brand arguments should put forward nostalgia in a personalised setting for this target group.
Keywords
Brand authenticity, brand nostalgia, brand trust, Generation Y, purchase intention.
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