Academic Journal

Off the shelf, still on their minds? Comprehending consumer responses to brand deletion.

Bibliographic Details
Title: Off the shelf, still on their minds? Comprehending consumer responses to brand deletion.
Authors: Shah, Purvi1 (AUTHOR), Loiacono, Eleanor T.2 (AUTHOR), Wilson, E. Vance3 (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Brand Strategy. Summer2026, Vol. 15 Issue 1, p43-58. 16p.
Subject Terms: *Brand loyalty, *Customer retention, *Consumer behavior, *Product management, Communication strategies, Emotions
Abstract: Consumers frequently develop strong relationships with brands and thus are profoundly affected when these beloved brands are deleted from firm portfolios. The purpose of this research is to develop a fine-grained understanding of brand deletion from the consumers' perspective, by identifying their key responses to brand deletion and developing self-report measures to assess these responses. A practical framework was developed to help firms understand and measure consumer reactions through an instrument and an overarching model conceptualising consumers' responses to brand deletion. Consumers' responses to brand deletion were found to emerge as a three-stage process: 1) thoughts and interpretations of the brand's discontinuation; 2) emotional reactions such as sadness and/or betrayal; and 3) actions that can include complaining and/or negative word of mouth. Prior research has focused on a variety of specific atomistic consumer responses to brand deletion, including grief, rage and retaliation. In contrast, the research applies an integrated approach grounded in the tripartite model of cognition-affect-behaviour and the theory of cognitive appraisal. Actionable insights are offered for brand managers to anticipate consumer backlash and design effective communication strategies to plan and implement brand deletion decisions effectively. This framework equips businesses to reduce risk and maintain customer loyalty in the event of brand deletions. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Brand Strategy is the property of Henry Stewart Publications LLP and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Business Source Index
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PubType: Academic Journal
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PreciseRelevancyScore: 1515
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  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Off the shelf, still on their minds? Comprehending consumer responses to brand deletion.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Shah%2C+Purvi%22">Shah, Purvi</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Loiacono%2C+Eleanor+T%2E%22">Loiacono, Eleanor T.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wilson%2C+E%2E+Vance%22">Wilson, E. Vance</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Brand+Strategy%22">Journal of Brand Strategy</searchLink>. Summer2026, Vol. 15 Issue 1, p43-58. 16p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Brand+loyalty%22">Brand loyalty</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Customer+retention%22">Customer retention</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Consumer+behavior%22">Consumer behavior</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Product+management%22">Product management</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Communication+strategies%22">Communication strategies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Emotions%22">Emotions</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Consumers frequently develop strong relationships with brands and thus are profoundly affected when these beloved brands are deleted from firm portfolios. The purpose of this research is to develop a fine-grained understanding of brand deletion from the consumers' perspective, by identifying their key responses to brand deletion and developing self-report measures to assess these responses. A practical framework was developed to help firms understand and measure consumer reactions through an instrument and an overarching model conceptualising consumers' responses to brand deletion. Consumers' responses to brand deletion were found to emerge as a three-stage process: 1) thoughts and interpretations of the brand's discontinuation; 2) emotional reactions such as sadness and/or betrayal; and 3) actions that can include complaining and/or negative word of mouth. Prior research has focused on a variety of specific atomistic consumer responses to brand deletion, including grief, rage and retaliation. In contrast, the research applies an integrated approach grounded in the tripartite model of cognition-affect-behaviour and the theory of cognitive appraisal. Actionable insights are offered for brand managers to anticipate consumer backlash and design effective communication strategies to plan and implement brand deletion decisions effectively. This framework equips businesses to reduce risk and maintain customer loyalty in the event of brand deletions. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Brand Strategy is the property of Henry Stewart Publications LLP and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 16
        StartPage: 43
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Brand loyalty
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Customer retention
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Consumer behavior
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Product management
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Communication strategies
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Emotions
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Off the shelf, still on their minds? Comprehending consumer responses to brand deletion.
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            NameFull: Shah, Purvi
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            NameFull: Wilson, E. Vance
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            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Summer2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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