CSR: Consumer responses to the social quality of private labels

This paper investigates the responses of French consumers to the communication of the “social quality” of private labels (PL) in terms of perceived quality of the PL and intentional loyalty to the brand and the retailer. It also treats the role of some individual variables in these responses. Using experimentation with two independent groups, we show that communicating the “social quality” of the PL improves his perceived quality and the consumer′s intentional loyalty to the brand and the retailer. We also suggest through some individual variables a profile of the most sensitive consumers to the socially responsible PL.Few papers treat the relational potential of the socially responsible private label (PL) in the retailer′s strategy. This paper, through experimentation (N1=N2=400), studies this aspect on three levels: (a) consumers′ response to PL′s social quality in terms of perceived quality, (b) loyalty towards the socially responsible PL and the retailer, (c) and the role of individual variables in these responses. The findings reveal that (a) the communication of the PL′s social quality improves the perceived quality of the PL, (b) it also improves consumers′ intention of loyalty towards the PL and the retailer. It studies also (c) individual characteristics of consumers sensitive towards PL′s social quality.