Research Paper Example on Impact of Experiential Marketing on UK Consumers' Behaviour

Aim: The aim of the research study is to analyze the impacts of experiential marketing on the consumers’ purchasing behavior, the customer loyalty, and the appropriateness of using experiential marketing in the UK.

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Research Design: The research starts with an explanation of customer satisfaction and experiential marketing and experiential value and how they are related to the purchase behavior. It also explains the experiential value and purchase behavior. The use of a deductive approach in the methodology was appropriate because the conceptions are operationalised so that they are measured quantitatively. The approach was used in combination with the research and experiment design that suit the data. Through the use of simple random sampling, a sample of 150 respondents were selected for the research. It included corporate customers, sales representatives sand individual consumers. Regression analysis and ANOVA (analysis of variance) were used to analyse the data.

Findings: The discussion shows that consumption decisions are affected by some factors like sensory, affectionate, and cognitive experiences. The study addresses the issues related to consumer trends and uses scientific methods like SPSS to increase the reliability of the research. It integrates several scientific research methods to provide valid research conclusions. The findings show that consumer behavior, the emotional attachment between the consumers and the brands and the emotional and social value, are some of the main issues that affect consumption trends. The research analyzed the impacts of emotional value, customer loyalty, functional value, and the experiential value on the purchasing behaviour. Tables and figures were used to present the data and the discussion was done using a wide research based on primary and secondary research. The conclusion gives a comprehensive summary of the research, indicating that purchasing behavior, customer loyalty and the emotional attachment and other factors are some of the factors that affect the consumption trend in the beauty industry in the UK.

Limitations: The first one is the Cronbach's alpha, a coefficient of reliability or consistency in a group of respondents. It affects the consistency of the results. The other limitation is that the research did not consider the views of a specific age bracket and this means that if the same research is conducted on a specific age group, the results may be different. The third limitation is that there could be some bias in the way the researcher conducted their work.

Key Words: Experiential marketing, customer purchase behavior, emotional value, social value, customer loyalty.

Chapter 1 – Introduction

1.1. Background of the Study

The United Kingdom (UK) is the centre of innovation in the beauty industry with major developing and emerging trends in marketing. It is the sixth-largest market in beauty and personal care (BPC) products globally, which accounted for about $11.3bn in 2019, while per capita spending is fifth globally (British Beauty Council, 2019). A major trend affecting the BPC sector in the UK is the sudden shift of customer focus towards feeling more emotionally connected (Sonntag, 2016). Although premium attributes were largely credited to luxury, the contemporary aspects are shifting towards ethics and health characteristics. The top leading BPC brands in the UK include L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever (Euromonitor International, 2020). Although these multinationals hold very similar value shares, there is fierce competition among them. However, these beauty behemoths are facing increased pressure from fast-growing niche brands entering the UK, which are progressively eroding the value share of some of these larger players.

The recent BPC market in the UK is different from the past ten years because of technology and innovation, as well as the rise in digital selling (Lopaciuk and Loboda, 2013). Together with ensuring their products significantly impact the market, BPC brands ensure they create shareable moments with consumers. Experiential marketing plays a critical role in consumers sharing their experiences on social media (Alexis, 2019). There are various activations in the BPC sector in recent years while some brands have been purposely developing them for online sharing. For instance, L’Oréal launched a virtual makeup try-on experience that aimed to attract consumers and change their perception of the makeup product. The company offers a try-on engagement as well as virtual foundation consultation engagement where customers queue to taste the experience. Such experiences are a direct way for brands to communicate with consumers. Experiences such as personalization reflect the particular products that are appropriate for the consumer and simultaneously convinces them about the great quality that the brands offer.

Brakus et al. (2009) researched customers' experience towards a brand, its measurement, and its influence on buyer behaviour. It was established that brand experience could add value to various organizations. Experience occurs if a person faces or feels things to gain first-hand information. Experience constitutes the whole features of a person stimulated after observing things or participating in activities. The experience can be dreamt, imagined, or felt. After the establishment of the existence of positive experiences, a system should be completely incorporated in a way that every fundamental part delivers the sense of the product. Existing literature showed that few efforts had been made to describe the brand experience concept in the beauty and personal care sector. Therefore, this research paper intends to improve the study on experiential marketing through an exploration of variation in opinions of consumer towards beauty and personal care brands in the UK.

1.2. Problem Statement

A significant number of BPC brands focus on digital marketing, such as using social media instead of traditional advertising. However, over-reliance on speed, convenience and prices has led consumers to crave experiences in brick-and-mortar and physical spaces. Digital retailers are increasingly beginning to recognize a change in approach to give consumers more experience, congruent to offline retailers. Seventy per cent of BPC shoppers agree that in-store experience is important when choosing where to shop (Mintel, 2020). Most BPC brands are investing in experiential marketing since such campaigns allow them to influence the behaviours and interests of consumers as a way of motivating them to try something new (De Barnier et al., 2006). Experiential marketing is a valuable tool for several direct-to-customer brands in the UK market. Therefore, this current study is set to establish the relevance, appropriateness, and effectiveness of experiential marketing by BPC brands in the UK.

1.3. Research Objectives

1. To establish the relevance of experiential marketing by BPC brands in the UK.
2. To examine the appropriateness of experiential marketing by BPC brands in the UK.
3. To assess the effectiveness of experiential marketing by BPC brands in the UK.
4. To determine the significance of the relationship between experiential marketing and experiential value.
5. To determine the significance of the relationship between experiential marketing and consumer loyalty.
6. To determine the significance of the relationship between experiential marketing and consumer purchase behaviour.
7. To establish the relationship between experiential marketing, consumer loyalty, consumer purchase behaviour and experiential value in BPC sector in the UK.

1.4. Research Questions

The primary research question is stated below:

1. The relevance, appropriateness and effectiveness of Experiential Marketing by Beauty and Personal Care (BPC) brands in the United Kingdom (UK).

1. How relevant is experiential marketing for BPC brands in the UK to attract consumers?
2. Is experiential marketing appropriate for BPC brands in the UK to engage consumers?
3. How efficient and successful is experiential marketing in addressing consumer needs and wants by BPC brands in the UK?
4. How are experiential value, consumer loyalty and consumer purchase behaviour related to experiential marketing?

1.5. Significance of the Study

This research contributes to the knowledge in both academics and practitioners’ fields in marketing. The results of this study are important to brand managers in the service industry, specifically for the BPC brands in the UK, to understand how experiential marketing influences experiential value, consumer loyalty, and consumer purchase behaviour. Subsequently, it can assist brand managers to improve and implement a unique BPC brand experience. It can also aid in a better understanding of how to attract a particular group of customers. This study focuses on experience exploration approach to create experiential value to assist in developing established relationships between the brand and consumers in addition to differentiating themselves from competitors.

This study identifies the important factors that influence the BPC brand experience, hence establishing its effectiveness in guiding managers to consider those factors that positively contribute to the brand experience. Therefore, the BPC sector can prioritize these factors since they are controllable such as the senses, smell, sound, and sight by developing an ambient odour, visual appeal and resonance. The results of this research are an imperative addition for policymakers to develop strategies to ensure experiential marketing is relevant, appropriate, and effective while minimizing challenges in the sector. It contributes to the theory of experiential marketing by providing a founded theoretical framework that describes its relevance, appropriateness, and effectiveness in the BPC sector within the UK.

This dissertation explores and validates a new perspective of experiential marketing in the BPC sector in the UK to continue the exploration of the beauty market and experiences of consumers in both online and offline contexts. In terms of methodology, quantitative techniques are employed, and the instruments are driven from existing scales after being tested for validity and reliability. It attempts to link all the variables mentioned above in this particular market as this relationship has not been studied before.

Chapter 2 – Literature Review

2.1. Experiential Marketing

Hirschman and Holbrook (1982) made initial efforts to criticize the previous dominance of the traditional information processing theory. A different aspect of the consumption theory was developed – experiential elements of marketing – which was controversial to the existing model of information processing. Yu (2018) defines experiential marketing as a memorable experien...