This study examines the effect of attitude toward private label brands on the behavioral loyalty of Carrefour

An online questionnaire was conducted among 370 Carrefour consumers, enabling us to draw the following

conclusions: there is a significant positive relationship between attitude towards private labels and its

determinants (price sensitivity, trust in the retailer, and smart shopper feeling) and a significant negative

relationship (sensitivity to manufacturer brands). In addition, the relationship between attitudes towards private

The competition of the large distribution has become more and more fierce and evolving Kannou, A. (2024).

The consumer is confused by a large number of identical products that are sold under several brands, which leads

the brands to differentiate themselves by producing their own brands known as private label on the occasion of

seeing his empire get along a little more. Since their emergence, private label products have not stopped

progressing, as well as they have continued to gain in terms of profitability and market share (Del Vecchio, 2001;

Collins-Dodd and Lindly, 2003). In recent years, private labels have increased their notoriety all over the world

(Ourteni et al. 2021). The brands have clearly understood their interest and the benefits they can bring. Indeed,

private labels convey the values of the brands (Dialo, 2020). In the context of the global transformation of retail,

private label brands are positioning themselves as strategic players, combining quality, innovation, competitive

prices and sustainability. Although several studies have analyzed the influence of perceived quality or brand

develop a positive attitude towards the private labels. The antecedents that we borrow from literature are not

direct motivations. Based on the models of Richardson et al. (1996), on those of Batra and Sinha(2000) and on

the work of Belaid and Lacoeuilhe (2015), these antecedents are rather determinants that make it possible to

create favorable conditions for the development of a private label. So, we will try to answer the following

consumer behavior. The Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991), constitutes a major framework to explain

the transformation of attitudes into behaviors. According to Ajzen, a behavior depends primarily on the intention

to act, which is formed by the attitude towards the action, subjective norms and perceived behavioral

control.Within the framework of loyalty, the theory states that a positive attitude towards the brand generates a

re-purchase intention leading to behavioral loyalty. According to Oliver's model, the relationship between

attitude and behavioral fidelity is part of an evolutionary sequential process. Oliver (1999) proposes that loyalty

is built in four stages: cognitive, affective, conative and behavioral. The first stages are essentially attitudinal,

comprising first the rational evaluation, then the emotional attachment and finally the formation of an intention

to re-purchase which manifests itself in an observable behavior. This model highlights that behavioral loyalty is

the result of a favorable attitude. This concept of loyalty is defined as "Loyalty is defined in terms of the

Kapferer, 1983). Secondly, Wakefield and Inman(2003) define price sensitivity as "the measure by which

consumers perceive and react with a change in the prices of a good". Then, the consumer's expertise which is

defined according to Alba and Huchinson (1987) as "the ability to perform tasks related to the product". In

addition, trust in the retailer is defined by Taylor et al., (2014) as "predictive of customer loyalty as well as the

expectations to confirm that the company is reliable and can respect its promises".Thus, Mano and Elliot(1997)

define the smart shopper feeling "the fact of investing considerable time and effort in researching and using

The attitude towards private labels is a set of beliefs, experiences and feelings that form a predisposition to act

formed by three cognitive, affective and conative components. The cognitive component is more oriented

explain the attitude towards the private label. The study conducted by Burton et al. (1998) expresses that

sensitivity to manufacturers' brands makes it possible to favor a more favorable attitude towards the private

label. A consumer is considered insensitive to manufacturers' brands when he makes his choice by other

parameters or attributes such as price, promotional offers, product availability and or by the degree of novelty.

So it is sensitive to other variables. Sensitivity to manufacturers' brands consumers pay a brand premium (one

on price) and they are less attached to finding an offer that is the cheapest (Kapferer, 1994). Insensitivity to

manufacturers' brands makes it possible to encourage consumers to buy private labels (Guichard and Vanheems,

2004). The sensitivity can also concern the price. Monroe (1973) shows that consumers are likely to respond

differently as a result of a price variation in product categories. The work of Richardson et al. (1996) and Burton

et al. (1998) showed that price sensitivity is a predisposer to the development of a favorable attitude towards the

development of a sustainable relationship between the retail chain and the consumer (Abbes, 2003). Morgan and

Hunt (1994) emphasize the existence of a relationship between trust and engagement, they believe that trust is

essential for establishing a durable relationship. Ambroise et al. (2010) consider that the distributor gains the

trust of its consumers by acting on their attitude towards the brands that they label. As for the impact of the smart

shopper feeling on the attitude towards the brand, it seems very little studied (Burton et al. 1998; Garreston et

al. 2002; Liu and Wang, 2008). Indeed, according to Guareston et al (2002), the smart shopper feeling can

directly and positively influence the attitude towards a private label and manufacturer brand promotions.

GreenAtkins and Kim(2012) consider that the smart shopper feeling is a psychological variable that comes not

only from price savings but also from choosing a brand with a better quality / price ratio and spending less time

and effort on the purchasing processes. The motivations for the behavior of smart shopper could be varied in

However, several studies are interested in redemption behaviors or action controls (example: Bagozzi,

Baumgarter and Yi, 1992) in order to understand the outcome of the loyalty chain. Bagozzi and Warshaw (1990)

analyzed the relationship between conation and action. They believe that this relationship is a desire to consume.

This research takes into account purchasing decisions and not redemption. Some action control researchers

continue the effort and they want to examine repetitive actions. According to Hennig-Thurau and Hasen(2000)

intention cannot generate behavior because repetitive behavior cannot translate intentions. Faced with this

observation, Olivier (1997) considers that behavioral fidelity is essential to qualify true fidelity. In this phase the

consumer becomes faithful through action. So the behavior is automatic and is based on a favorable attitude. In

relationship between brand loyalty and attitude towards the brand. Indeed, for Dick and Basu (1994) loyalty

behavior. Indeed, the attitude of consumers towards private label products makes it possible to influence their

propensities to buy them (Collins-Dodd and Lindley, 2003; Burton et al., 1998). So we can see the major

In order to measure these relationships, we carried out an online quantitative study with 370 Internet users who

agreed to answer our questionnaire. In order to choose a relevant sign that will be the subject of our research, we

have found that it is useful to be selected from our target audience. Regarding the product category, previous

work has chosen consumer products (private label food product). For this study, we approached our target

As part of this study, the potential participants are users who subscribe to the Carrefour brand's Facebook page.

These members represent a varied community, composed of regular customers, occasional visitors, as well as

Internet users interested in the products, promotions or services offered by the brand. All members of this page

can be considered as part of the accessible sample, because they can answer a questionnaire distributed on the

platform. This population is characterized by a diversity of ages, social profiles and consumption habits, which

This analysis allowed us to keep all the items, because all the communities were greater than 0.4 (Roussel,

2005) and the factor loads were greater than 0.5 (Evrard et al., 2009). In addition, we checked the reliability of

Larcker, 1981) by calculating the extracted mean variance (AVE) (>0.5). With regard to the discriminant

validity, it has been respected because the squares of the correlations between the dimensions are smaller than

In the present work, we have sought to study the relationship between the attitude towards the private label and

the determinants of the attitude towards the private label, namely: price sensitivity, Sensitivity to manufacturers'

brands , consumer expertise, trust in the retailer and the smart shopper feeling. First, the results show a positive

pricesensitive consumers are developing a favorable attitude towards private labels, probably due to their

attractive positioning in terms of value for money. This result is consistent with the existing literature (Batra

and Sinha, 2000), which indicates that private labels are perceived as offering substantial economic value, which

reinforces the positive attitude of consumers seeking to optimize their spending. Secondly, a significant positive

relationship was also observed between trust in the retailer and attitude towards private labels. This result

private labels (Belaid and Lacoeuilhe, 2015). Thirdly,the smart shopper feeling also shows a positive and

themselves competent in their purchasing choices perceive private labels favorably, probably because they