A study of factors influencing brand loyalty towards a Thanakha cosmetic in Yangon, Myanmar

Myanmar was once an isolated pariah country in Southeast Asia which is now the fastest growing market. The country is using the new democratically elected government in order to attract the interest of investors around the world. So, the country endures substantial political and economic reformation. The country has been restructuring its policies with the goal of establishing a market-oriented economy. The demand for beauty products is on the rise in Myanmar’s growing consumer market. Beauty brands from Europe, America and Asia are emerging in Myanmar salons and beauty shops as more women are hunting better skincare and quality cosmetics. Among these foreign brands, Myanmar traditional cosmetic brands are also struggling to survive in the local market. However, Myanmar traditional cosmetic so called Thanakha remains as a favorite beautifier for generation to generation. Hence, in this study, the researcher will focus on customer brand loyalty towards a Thanakha cosmetic in Yangon, Myanmar and explore which factors affect most on brand loyalty among Myanmar customers. In this research, the researcher utilized three theoretical frameworks of Ebeid (2014), Gil et al., (2007) and Hameed (2013) in order to develop a conceptual framework. The researcher collected the data from 400 Myanmar shoppers at seven selected shopping centers such as Junction 8 shopping center, Taw Win center, Junction Square shopping center, Dagon center, Ocean shopping center, Hledan center and Parkson FMI center as target respondents. The respondents are customers who have experienced with Shwe Pyi Nann Thanakha cosmetic at least 3 months. The researcher employed Simple Linear Regression (SLR) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) in order to test the hypotheses. According to the result of SLR analysis, in hypothesis one (H1), family has a positive influence on brand awareness. In (H2), family has a positive influence on perceived quality. In (H3), family has a positive effect on brand association. In (H4), advertising spending is positively impact on brand awareness. In (H5), advertising spending has a positive influenced on perceived quality. In (H6), advertising spending is positively impact on brand association. In (H7), advertising spending has a positive effect on customer satisfaction. From the result of MLR analysis, all three variables such as brand awareness, brand association and customer satisfaction are positively influenced on brand loyalty. However, perceived quality has a negative impact on brand loyalty. Among all variables, customer satisfaction is the most significantly positive effect on brand loyalty although perceived quality has a negatively influence on brand loyalty. According to the finding, it can be concluded that customer satisfaction is the most significantly influenced on brand loyalty towards Shwe Pyi Nann Thanakha cosmetic brand. If customers are satisfied about the product, there is no doubt that they will be loyal to such brands. Therefore, the more the customer satisfied the products, the more customers loyal to a brand. However, perceived quality has a negative impact on brand loyalty towards Shwe Pyi Nann Thanakha cosmetic. This can imply that the more customers perceive the quality of a product, the less customers brand loyalty towards Shwe Pyi Nann Thanakha cosmetic. To sum up, this research would be beneficial for marketers, managers and business owners in order to build a strong brand loyalty in the future.