Green Cosmetic Industry and Young Consumers : Antecedents of Green Brand Preference and Loyalty

A customer’s preference of a brand and loyalty to it is linked to the trust, satisfaction, awareness, and the image that is associated with the brand. This paper studies these four factors in the setting of green brands along with their connection to the customer’s preference and loyalty. The sample population for the research is comprised of young consumers under the age of forty who use green cosmetics. A standardized questionnaire was circulated that covered different nuances and impacts of green brand marketing in India to test the hypothesis. The conceptual framework was tested using structural equation modelling. The analysis revealed that brand image, brand satisfaction, and brand awareness significantly influence brand preference, while brand trust and brand awareness significantly influence brand loyalty. The findings also revealed that brand trust does not influence brand preference and brand image and brand satisfaction does not influence brand loyalty. The studies in the future will benefit from having a validation that the model is currently present in different geographical sectors. The limitation of this study is that the findings may not be applicable to all geographical areas. Elevating the consumption of green cosmetic products is favourable to the health of consumer’s but also betters the environment. Marketers that position their green products to the customers who care about the green values of consumption can drive a positive response. Assessing awareness, image, trust, satisfaction, towards preference and loyalty of brands in the context of green brands is a novel attempt to acknowledge the potential of green brand marketing. Thus, primary contribution is exploration of the role of green brand trust, green brand satisfaction, green brand awareness, and green brand image in determining brand preference and brand loyalty in the green cosmetic industry, succeeding the framework of the conceptual model