Perceived Status Enhancement, Brand Loyalty and Brand Involvement

A sample of 170 Starbucks brewed coffee customers from four Starbucks coffeehouses in South Florida were administered a survey to determine their perceptions of Starbucks brewed coffee as status enhancing as well as their attitudinal and behavioral brand loyalty and their brand involvement. Reliability and factor analyses confirmed the internal reliability and unitary structure of the multi-item constructs. Linear regressions revealed that customers' perceptions of the branded product as status enhancing were positively associated with their brand involvement (R = .174, p = .023) and their attitudinal brand loyalty (R = .214, p = .005), but not with their behavioral brand loyalty (R = .091, p = .240). These results add to the theory of status consumption and may aid companies in deciding whether to use status enhancement as a marketing strategy for their brands and products.