An assessment of customer perception towards foreign brands in the local market: a case of South African imported home appliances

Abstract

The study focused on an assessment of customer perception towards foreign brands in the local market, a case of selected South African home appliances. Foreign brands of electrical goods have found a foothold in the local market and this has increased harm to local manufacturers of home appliances. The aims of this study was to determine the impact of consumer learning/knowledge on purchase decisions of foreign brands of electrical appliances, to study the impact of perception about quality on the purchase decisions of foreign brands of electrical appliances and to investigate the impact of country of origin on customers' purchase decisions of foreign brands of electrical appliances. A descriptive research design was used in assessing the variables. The sample size was 79 customers from Harare. Primary data in this study was collected through self-administered questionnaires. They were distributed physically and online or through internet channels to cater for the technology-savvy respondents. Data was analyzed through the use of SPSS (16.0) by conducting one sample t-tests. The results of the data were presented in form of tables and graphs. The findings from the hypothesis reveal that consumer learning or knowledge and country of origin impacts the perception of foreign brands whereas perceived value has no impact on the perception of foreign brands.