Why consumers buy BOGO-products. : an exploratory study of philanthropy-linkedproducts in retail stores.

Abstract: More and more consumers have become socially conscious when choosing which retailer to buy from; thus many retailers have increased their engagement in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. One common form of CSR activity within companies is philanthropy, or corporate philanthropy, where companies aim to donate to charity or to take environmental and social issues into consideration. Conscious customers and ethical consumerism have led to a particular retail trend, known as the Buy- One-Give-One (BOGO) business model has grown in popularity among today’s retail industry brands. Since it is of importance to understand the motivations of consumers’ purchase decisions, the purpose of this study is to explore consumers’ choices to purchase BOGO-products, and how these BOGO- products influence consumer perception of retail store assortment. This thesis is based on an abductive research, where the empirical data was collected based on focus groups. Based on the eight ethical factors (ethical consumption) and five values (theory of consumption value) found in previous studies, we have concluded that eight of the ethical factors and values correspond with the findings of our research. Within these corresponding factors and values, we found that there are seven sub-themes that can determine how consumers are motivated to purchase BOGO- products; dependency, connection (relate factor), marketing, alternative donation, appearance (taste), and trend. The findings of our study both contributed to an in depth understanding of previous research, whilst developing new and relevant insights of how consumers are motivated to purchase BOGO-products. Since no previous research, to the best of our knowledge, has studied BOGO-products in combination with ethical consumption and the theory of consumption value (TCV), this study brings originality to the study field. Lastly, the originality of this study also lies in the importance, convenience and up-to- date nature of this topic. Nonetheless, further research is encouraged since our study is limited in three ways. Few of the participants in the focus groups had prior knowledge about BOGO; time and money restriction; and the participants were students (Millennials), which led to a frequent answer of budget restrictions.