Sensory brand experience and brand loyalty: Mediators and gender differences

Sensory brand experience is a fundamental and central brand experience. Its influencing mechanism on brand outcome variables still needs to be clarified. This study proposed a new SEM model to explore the influencing mechanism from sensory brand experience to brand loyalty and tested it using SmartPLS 4 software. Data were gathered through a web-based questionnaire survey of 304 Chinese consumers. The results show that sensory brand experience is vital in fostering brand loyalty. It impacts brand loyalty both directly and indirectly. The mediating effect of brand attitude is much higher than the mediating effect of brand-self connection, which means that in some situations, a strong emotional bond is not essential for brand success. The results also reveal the moderating effect of gender on relationships in the model. The key gender difference is that the male group does not have a mediation path through brand-self connection, while the female group has. This study expands the research on brand experience and sheds light on developing brand loyalty. Gender differences should be considered when developing sensory marketing strategies. Especially for women, creating sensory brand experiences that elicit strong emotional connections has positive effects on brand loyalty.