Handling private label customer complaints to improve customer satisfaction: Qualitative evidence from Turkish retailers

Abstract

There have been disruptive changes in retail industry due to changing consumer expectations and hyper competition. The aim of the current study is to provide an initial attempt at addressing a less researched area: customer dissatisfaction with private label brands. Since retailers are in search of finding new sources of competitive advantage-besides cost advantage-customer intimacy, complaint management, and creating secondary customer satisfaction for private label loyalty is an essential strategy in today's retailing industry. This study covers a review on private label branding and customer complaint management literature. In order to provide support for the existing literature, in depth interview with managers of two leading retailers is included in the study. The findings reveal the need and importance of focusing on antecedents of customer complaints and developing recovery strategies for gaining secondary satisfaction. © 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.