Examination of the Relationship Between Brand Trust and Brand Loyalty Among Young Consumers in Terms of Demographic Variables

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71125/sporteconres.33

Keywords:

Brand trust, rand loyalty, young consumers, consumer behavior, sports marketing

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationships between brand trust and brand loyalty and their respective subdimensions among young consumers in the context of demographic and behavioral variables. The sample consisted of 427 students, including 198 male and 229 female students. Of these, 294 were middle school students and 133 were high school students. A Personal Information Form, Brand Trust Scale, and Brand Loyalty Scale were used. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, independent-samples t-test, and one-way ANOVA. The correlation analysis revealed a moderate positive relationship between total brand trust and total brand loyalty. Female students reported higher credibility, integrity, and total brand trust scores than male students. Students who regularly engaged in sports reported higher brand behavior, team identification, purchase intention, total brand loyalty, and credibility scores. Merchandise-purchasing frequency was associated with several dimensions of brand loyalty and brand trust. Digital following frequency was associated with brand behavior, brand satisfaction, team identification, purchase intention, and total brand loyalty, but not total brand trust. These findings provide important insights into young consumer behavior while potentially contributing to the development of effective sports marketing strategies by highlighting demographic and behavioral differences.

References

Akgün, A. A., & Sarıtaş, E. (2023). Adapting brand trust scale to Turkish: Validity and reliability study. The Journal of Selcuk University Social Sciences Institute, 52, 420-434. https://doi.org/10.52642/susbed.1352856

Aksoy, S., & Baş, M. (2024). The mediating roles of brand trust, customer satisfaction and brand loyalty in the effect of brand awareness on positive word-of-mouth communication. Journal of Business Research-Turk, 16(3), 1617-1639. https://doi.org/10.20491/isarder.2024.1876

Al Masud, A., Ahmed, S., Kaisar, M. T., Hossain, B., Shimu, M., & Islam, M. F. (2024). Unveiling brand loyalty in emerging markets: Analyzing smartphone user preferences: Robustness of structural equation modeling (SEM) and simultaneous equation modeling (SEMs). Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 10(3), 100353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joitmc.2024.100353

Altın, S., & Özdemir Süzer, Ö. (2023). The effect of brand trust in e-commerce sites and consumer-brand identification on brand evangelism among young consumers. Cumhuriyet University Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences, 24(3), 459-468. https://doi.org/10.37880/cumuiibf.1289636

Annamalai, B., Yoshida, M., Varshney, S., Pathak, A. A., & Venugopal, P. (2021). Social media content strategy for sport clubs to drive fan engagement. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 62, 102648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102648

Aslan, M., & Karabulut, Ö. (2021). The level of football fans' perceptions of team reputation predicting brand loyalty. Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Journal of Sports Sciences, 4(2), 42-58.

Aydın, G. (2025). The mediating role of hedonic shopping value between sports team evangelism and the intention to purchase licensed merchandise. Dede Korkut Journal of Sports Sciences, 3(2), 134-150. https://doi.org/10.71243/dksbd.1792400

Aydın, G., & Aydın, G. (2025). Loyal to the crest, not limited by the wallet: The effect of emotional commitment to the sports team on the intention to purchase counterfeit club products. Sport Economics Research, 2(2), 153-171. https://doi.org/10.71125/sporteconres.26

Bernarto, I., Berlianto, M. P., Meilani, Y. F. C. P., Masman, R. R., & Suryawan, I. N. (2020). The influence of brand awareness, brand image, and brand trust on brand loyalty. Jurnal Manajemen, 24(3), 412-426. https://doi.org/10.24912/jm.v24i3.676

Bozbay, Z., & Karakuş Başlar, E. (2020). Impact of brand trust on brand loyalty: Mediating role of brand affect. Journal of Academic Research in Economics, 12(2), 247-268.

Cardoso, A., Gabriel, M., Figueiredo, J., Oliveira, I., Rêgo, R., Silva, R., Oliveira, M., & Meirinhos, G. (2022). Trust and loyalty in building the brand relationship with the customer: Empirical analysis in a retail chain in northern Brazil. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 8(3), 109. https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc8030109

Chaudhuri, A., & Holbrook, M. B. (2001). The chain of effects from brand trust and brand affect to brand performance: The role of brand loyalty. Journal of Marketing, 65(2), 81-93. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.65.2.81.18255

Chen, C.-Y., Chou, Y.-L., Lin, Y.-H., & Lin, Y.-K. (2025). Sport fans’ curiosity and impulsive buying: Mediation of social media use intensity. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 7, 1519003. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2025.1519003

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Desveaud, K., Mandler, T., & Eisend, M. (2024). A meta-model of customer brand loyalty and its antecedents. Journal of Business Research, 176, 114589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114589

Dick, A. S., & Basu, K. (1994). Customer loyalty: Toward an integrated conceptual framework. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 22(2), 99-113. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070394222001

Durmaz, Y., Özer, Ö., & Çavuşoğlu, S. (2020). A field research on youth’s brand loyalty and brand sensitivity in clothes: An application in Turkey. European Journal of Business and Management Research, 5(2), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejbmr.2020.5.2.259

Gözükara, İ., & Çolakoğlu, N. (2016). A research on Generation Y students: Brand innovation, brand trust and brand loyalty. International Journal of Business Management and Economic Research, 7(2), 603-611.

Gurviez, P., & Korchia, M. (2003). Proposal for a multidimensional brand trust scale. Paper presented at the 32nd EMAC Conference, Glasgow, Scotland. http://www.watoowatoo.net/mkgr/papers/pg-mk-emac2003.pdf

Haryanto, J. O., Moutinho, L., & Coelho, A. (2016). Is brand loyalty really present in the children’s market? A comparative study from Indonesia, Portugal, and Brazil. Journal of Business Research, 69(10), 4020-4032. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.06.013

Hu, X., Chen, X., & Davison, R. M. (2019). Social support, source credibility, social influence, and impulsive purchase behavior in social commerce. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 23(3), 297-327. https://doi.org/10.1080/10864415.2019.1619905

Kalauz, M. S., Vranešević, T., & Tratnik, M. (2011). The clothing brand loyalty of teenagers: differences between loyalty and desire to be loyal. International Journal of Management Cases, 13(4), 156–164. https://doi.org/10.5848/APBJ.2011.00123

Kalyoncuoğlu, S. (2017). The mediating role of brand love in the relationship of brand trust and brand loyalty: A research on Starbucks as a brand. Journal of Tourism & Gastronomy Studies, 5(4), 383-402. https://doi.org/10.21325/jotags.2017.156

Karpinska-Krakowiak, M. (2021). Women are more likely to buy unknown brands than men: The effects of gender and known versus unknown brands on purchase intentions. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 58, 102273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102273

Kaya, B. (2024). An examination of the brand attitudes of faculty of sports sciences students towards sports products. Sport Economics Research, 1(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.71125/sporteconres.4

Khamitov, M., Wang, X., & Thomson, M. (2019). How well do consumer-brand relationships drive customer brand loyalty? Generalizations from a meta-analysis of brand relationship elasticities. Journal of Consumer Research, 46(3), 435-459. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucz006

Kline, R. B. (2016). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. The Guilford Press

Larasati, A. W., & Perkasa, D. H. (2026). Brand trust as a determinant of consumer loyalty: An empirical study on skincare brands. Golden Ratio of Mapping Idea and Literature Format, 6(2), 1311-1324. https://doi.org/10.52970/grmilf.v6i2.2057

Liu, Y. (2025). Characteristics of sports brand content on social media and their effects on consumers. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 7, 1721424. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2025.1721424

Martensen, A. (2007). Tweens’ satisfaction and brand loyalty in the mobile phone market. Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, 8(2), 108-116. https://doi.org/10.1108/17473610710757464

Mecredy, P., Wright, M., Feetham, P., & Stern, P. (2024). Remembering less, or needing less? Age-related differences in the purchase funnel. Marketing Letters, 35(2), 171-186. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-023-09681-8

Ok, Ş., & Altın, S. (2024). The mediating role of brand trustworthiness in the relationship between consumers' webrooming and showrooming tendencies and purchase intentions. Journal of Business Research-Turk, 16(4), 2441-2461. https://doi.org/10.20491/isarder.2024.1925

Rosário, A. T., & Casaca, J. A. (2025). Brand loyalty and generations X, Y, Z. Journal of Ecohumanism, 4(2), 1132-1151. https://doi.org/10.62754/joe.v4i2.6426

Sarıipek, T. (2023). Relationship between brand awareness levels, brand loyalty behaviors, brand function perceptions, factors influencing brand loyalty, and preferred criteria in product purchasing among secondary school students engaged in sports. Journal of Education and Recreation Patterns, 4(2), 431-446. https://doi.org/10.53016/jerp.v4i2.179

Schreuder, P., Zeelenberg, M., & Pronk, T. M. (2024). How consumers define brand relationships: A prototype analysis. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 33(1), 43-56. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-12-2022-4263

Suki, N. M., & Suki, N. M. (2019). Examination of peer influence as a moderator and predictor in explaining green purchase behaviour in a developing country. Journal of Cleaner Production, 228, 833-844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.218

Tekin, Y. (2020). Brand loyalty for licensed products of teams of sports club fans (Ankara province example). [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Ankara University.

Zhu, D. H., Chang, Y. P., & Luo, J. J. (2016). Understanding the influence of C2C communication on purchase decision in online communities from a perspective of information adoption model. Telematics and Informatics, 33(1), 8-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2015.06.001

Downloads

Published

2026-07-25

How to Cite

Aslan, M., & Ateş, F. (2026). Examination of the Relationship Between Brand Trust and Brand Loyalty Among Young Consumers in Terms of Demographic Variables. Sport Economics Research, 3(1), 46–70. https://doi.org/10.71125/sporteconres.33

Similar Articles

1 2 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.