The Impact of Self-Brand Congruence on Consumer Brand Engagement. Evidence from Retail Apparel Brands in Pakistan

Abstract

This research aims to understand how well a brand reflects a customer’s identity known as self-brand congruence (SBC) and how this connection influences the way people engage with that brand, especially in Pakistan’s retail apparel industry. The study focuses on three aspects of consumer brand engagement (CBE): how much people think about the brand (cognitive processing), how they feel emotionally connected (affection), and how active they are with it (activation). The purpose is to see whether people are more engaged with brands that feel like a true reflection of themselves. To investigate this, we used a quantitative research approach and collected primary data through an online survey. The survey was distributed to people who actively engage with fashion brand pages on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. A total of 255 responses were collected and analyzed using SPSS and AMOS software. The study followed a positivist philosophy and applied techniques such as Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to validate the model and test our hypotheses. The results showed strong, positive relationships between self-brand congruence and all three types of engagement—thinking, feeling, and acting. The data also showed high reliability and validity, meaning the tools and measurements we used were solid. These findings suggest that when people feel a brand represents who they are, they are more likely to connect with it emotionally, think about it more, and stay involved with it. This study helps brands understand the importance of matching their image with their customers’ sense of self.

Keywords: Self-Brand, Congruence, Consumer Brand Engagement, Retail Apparel Brands, and Pakistan