Self-esteem's moderation of self-congruity effects on brand loyalty

Abstract

This research set out to find how consumer self-esteem moderates the relative importance of actual self-congruity vs. ideal self-congruity on women's brand loyalty to fitness brands. College-aged women were the primary focus for this research because this demographic represents an emerging consumer group and because the literature suggests women score significantly lower than men on self-esteem scales in physical appearance, athletic self, personal self, and self-satisfaction self-esteem. A survey of 151 women ages 18-24 was conducted. The survey analysis supports prior research findings that actual and ideal self-congruity are both positively correlated with brand loyalty; however, this study failed to demonstrate a significant moderating effect of self-esteem on either actual or ideal self-congruity effects for brand loyalty.