Determinants of Brand Loyalty of Sports Footwear

Conclusion and Recommendation

Brand loyalty is a vital topic for marketers to understand consumer behaviour in the market. As such, marketers are curious to know which factors determine the brand loyalty of their customers towards their products. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to investigate the determinants of brand loyalty of sports footwear brands in South Africa in order to empower the manufacturers and marketers of sports footwear with insight concerning the important factors that contribute to sports footwear brand loyalty for effective marketing.

Six factors, namely brand image, brand association, style, brand name, price and endorsement, were found to have a statistically significant influence on sports footwear brands. These results suggested that Generation Y university students are loyal to sports footwear brands because of these six factors. In contrast, three factors, namely perceived quality, comfort and colour, were not found to be statistically significant. As such and based on the findings of this study, these three factors should not be regarded as predictors of brand loyalty of sports footwear brands among Generation Y university students. More studies need to be undertaken before a conclusive decision is made with regard to these three factors.

It is important for the manufacturers and marketers of sports footwear brands to understand which factors contribute to brand loyalty as this will provide them with the insight to know what to feature in their product during the production stages and how to adapt their marketing strategies to the Generation Y cohort. For example, manufacturers of sports footwear brands may need to ensure that they are on par with current fashion style trends within the youth market and produce current styles matching the preferences of youth consumers as the targeted group. In addition, marketers of sports footwear brands may need to identify and select a celebrity that is heavily followed by youth as the endorser of their sports footwear brand. Such actions will be beneficial for marketers to plan, develop and implement successful marketing campaigns aimed at the Generation Y cohort, given that Generation Y is the largest consumer group within the South African population.In addition, the Generation Y market is the most educated group of consumers – more than any other generation. A such, Generation Y consumers are earning better salaries and their spending appetite is stronger than any other consumer group in South Africa.