*6.1. Conclusions*

This study discussed consumers' degree of brand attachment to different brands of convenience stores and analyzed how business owners use brand experience strategic managemen<sup>t</sup> plans to meet consumers' cognitive demands and reactions. We used the FLPR method and the analysis procedure of QFD to properly measure multilinguistic data provided by subjects and avoided consumers' subjective judgment and uncertainty hidden in linguistic communication in the traditional HOQ evaluation process. We performed analysis through FQFD to determine the relevance between brand attachment and brand experience strategic managemen<sup>t</sup> plans and discover useful coping strategies for convenience store brand owners. By using useful brand experience strategies, convenience store brand owners can cause consumers to have stronger brand attachment, which they can convert into a competitiveness advantage to boost their own brands.

The theoretical implications and the linkage with previous studies are as follows. First, this study extended previous research findings on measuring and building brand attachment frameworks and importance assessments [74,75]. Second, this study supported the theoretical concept from quantitative empirical findings that the importance of brand attachment should be integrated into the interaction between consumers' requirements and brand values, which could be embedded in the content of the brand experience [2]. Last but not least, this study also found explicit theoretical evidence for the relevance and importance of brand attachment in the development of brand experience managemen<sup>t</sup> strategies in the literature [76–78].

The conclusions are listed below:

(1) Understanding the cognitive demands and perceptions associated with consumers' brand attachment: The results showed that young consumers of 7-Eleven had a

stronger perception of brand prominence. Brand prominence is the degree of perception of brand affection and memory in consumers' minds, reflecting the significance of the connection between consumers' brand affection and self-recognition. This finding also showed that 7-Eleven had good results in developing young consumers and causing them to be attached to the brand, making it possible for consumers to maintain long-term loyalty to the brand. Regarding young consumers of Family Mart and Hi-Life, both consumer groups had stronger reactions to the brand-self connection, which means that the level at which these consumers integrate these brands into their self-concept is higher. Compared with 7-Eleven, this could be an advantage for Family Mart and Hi-Life. Combining the analyses of the young and older consumer groups, we noted that although the consumers of the three brands valued the factors of brand attachment differently, most of them still thought highly of brand prominence and the brand–self connection. This finding means that if retailing enterprises can connect with consumers through the brand-self connection and integrate the brand-self connection into their perception, affection, and self-concept, they will flourish because these elements are crucial.

