The mediating role of emotional brand attachment: exploring the coffee-like scent application in building the store brand loyalty and store loyalty

The primary objective of this paper is to propose a conceptual model to explore the relationship between coffee-like scent, emotional brand attachment (EBA), store brand loyalty, and, store loyalty. Relevant literature was reviewed to establish the relationships between coffee-like scent, EBA, store brand loyalty, and store loyalty. This study proposes a conceptual framework and propositions that seek to explain the relationship among the variables. The statistical population of the research is the customers of stores who inhaled the coffee-like scent, 25 cases were surveyed during 2023-2024. The developed conceptual model indicates that the coffee-like scent positively affects EBA and influences store loyalty. This study, leveraging the S-O-R model and the appraisal theory, demonstrates how firms can use coffee-like scent to enhance store loyalty. By influencing EBA, firms can positively impact marketing-related variables, such as store loyalty, without requiring customers to consume coffee. This research is among the first to draw upon established scent and caffeine literature to develop a conceptual framework to analyse the effect of coffee-like scent on key marketing variables like store loyalty, with EBA as the mediator.