The influence of symbolic consumption on creating brand loyalty

Today, companies develop various strategies to achieve their goals in the markets in which they operate. One of the strategies that companies try to place in consumers' memories through different symbols and images is to add symbolic meanings to their products. It is observed that consumers who prefer products through these symbolic elements re-choose certain brands and develop a sense of loyalty towards these brands. The aim of this study is to investigate whether symbolic elements and sub-dimensions of symbolic consumption have an impact on consumer behavior and brand loyalty. The sample of the study consists of Volkswagen automobile users living in Rize. In this study, which used snowball sampling, 233 questionnaires were obtained at the end of data collection process. After the necessary controls, all of the questionnaires were analyzed and the structural model was tested. While the sub-dimensions of symbolic consumption, brand effect, self-congruence collectivism / individualism, brand identity and brand reputation dimensions have been observed to have a certain effect on brand loyalty, however contrary to literature self-congruence dimension has no effect on brand loyalty.