title: An exploratory analysis of cigarette price premium, market share and consumer loyalty in relation to continued consumption versus cessation in a national US panel.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Brand equity and consumer loyalty play a role in continued purchasing behaviour; however, this research has largely focused on non-addictive products without counter-marketing tactics. We examined the impact of brand equity (price premium, market share) and consumer loyalty (switching rates) on smoking cessation (discontinued cigarette purchases for 1 year) among smokers in a consumer panel.
  
  
  METHODS
  In Spring 2015, we analysed 1077 cigarette-purchasing households in the Nielsen Homescan Panel. We analysed cessation in relation to brand equity, consumer loyalty, other purchasing behaviours (nicotine intake, frequency), sociodemographics and tobacco control activities (per state-specific data) over a 6-year period (2004-2009) using Cox proportional hazard modelling.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample was 13.28% African-American; the average income was $52,334 (SD=31,445). The average price premium and market share of smokers' dominant brands were $1.31 (SD=0.49) and 15.41% (SD=19.15), respectively. The mean brand loyalty level was 0.90 (SD=0.17), indicating high loyalty. In our final model, a higher price premium and market share were associated with lower quit rates (p=0.039); however, an interaction effect suggested that greater market share was not associated with lower cessation rates for African-American smokers (p=0.006). Consumer loyalty was not associated with cessation. Other predictors of lower quit rates included a higher nicotine intake (p=0.006) and baseline purchase frequency (p<0.001). Tobacco control factors were not significantly associated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Smokers of high-equity cigarette brands are less likely to quit, perhaps due to strong brand-consumer relationships. Thus, continued efforts should aim to regulate tobacco marketing efforts in order to disrupt these relationships to promote cessation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Marketing, Emory University Goizueta Business School, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: Marketing Division, University of Colorado Boulder, Leeds school of Business, Boulder, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Yanwen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Zachary
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Carla J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Berg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000329:Advertising; D000368:Aged; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012907:Smoking / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology*; D062789:Tobacco Products / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: PREVENTIVE MEDICINE; PUBLIC HEALTH