Consumer Perception of Regional Brands in Czechia in 2021

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 changed consumer purchasing behaviour and brand perception. Regional brands were denied their traditional availability and communication channels due to lockdowns. This raises the question whether regional brands are even relevant for consumers and companies in 2021? The aim of the article is thus to find out what the consumer regional brand awareness is, what are perceived regional brand characteristics/benefits, and what are regional brand customers characteristics. The sample used is 1050 respondents from the Czech Republic. The method used is an online survey. The results are compared, where available, with results from 2014 and 2018 to illustrate the trends. Three research questions were formulated based on the three parts of article aim. Main findings include the regional brand awareness is rising over the researched period to 73 % prompted awareness;main characteristics include region support, traditional production, high quality, and uniqueness;most favourable customer segments are age groups 46-55 and 56-65, with secondary and tertiary education, and income of 30 000 CZK and more.