Factors Affecting Brand Purchase Intent in the Sports Footwear Category

Abstract

The intensity of competition in the footwear brands is increasing with the passage of time and this is also leading towards higher switching of customers from brand to brand. In the footwear category of the apparel industry there are three famous brands such as Nike; Reebok & Adidas which have attained 33% market share of the sportswear. There are diversified factors which impact the purchase intention of customers of company and the companies are eager to know these factors to take better decisions. Therefore, the current study intended to determine the variety of factors which have ability to influence the purchase intent of customers related to brand in the sportswear category of apparel industry. The researcher selected five factors which includes the brand awareness, familiarity with brand popularity of brand, association of customers with company & consistency of image. The researcher used quantitative approach and used questionnaire as a research instrument to collect responses of Karachi residents. The sample size was two hundred and respondents selected through non-probability sampling. The study found a significant relationship of purchase intention with brand awareness, brand familiarity, and brand popularity. However, organizational associations and image consistency do not have significant impact on purchase intention. Therefore, the marketers should use modern marketing methods, such as customized marketing, celebrity endorsement and sponsorships for brand awareness, familiarity and popularity. The study would be valuable for marketers, researchers as well as companies operating in footwear industry specifically related to athletic footwear.