Crafting lasting bonds: unveiling the impact of brand experience on enhancing elderly consumer-based brand equity in the thriving Chinese digital phone market

This study aims to examine the mechanism of how to transform the brand experience to brand equity for older consumers by considering the significant effect of reverse intergenerational influence and emotional experience in Chinese digital phone market. Based on data collected from 294 seniors aged 60 and over in China, the hypothesized paths were tested through structural equation modeling. The results show that the impact of functional experience on brand equity of older consumers is negatively moderated by the level of reverse intergenerational influence. Further, the effect of emotional experience on brand equity is positively affected by the level of reverse intergenerational influence. However, reverse intergenerational influence fails to strengthen the brand equity evoked by sensory experience. Additionally, emotional experience serves as a partial mediator between functional experience and brand equity, and as a full mediator between sensory experience and brand equity. This study extends the knowledge of brand experience and brand equity by highlighting how brand experience interplays with reverse intergenerational influence in influencing the brand equity of older consumers.