Halal Purchase Intention- A Study on Islamic Banks of Bangladesh

Purchase intention is a term used in consumer behaviour which can influence the augmentation of the brand's performance. Many researches done on the issue of purchase intention, brands and brand equity but this study focuses only on the Halal paradigm. We have limited our study within the Islamic banking Industry of Bangladesh. Even though Bangladesh is a Muslim major country, yet awareness and knowledge of what is Halal (allowable in Islam) and what is Haram (forbidden in Islam) is really poor. Still majority of the banks are operating in conventional i.e. interest based banking. People follow their religion as some rituals descended from their ancestors, not completely knowing about the actual rules. Purchase intention is a very important term in consumer behaviour and has positive outcome if fostered properly. Marketers thus emphasize precisely in this in order to have better business performance. Halal purchase intention is a new term in the realm of Islamic marketing and branding. There are numerous research done so far on purchase intention and its antecedents' relationship. However, very few studies have been done on halal purchase intention. This study aims to explore the antecedents of halal purchase intention. Six IVs has been identified- brand equity, brand trust, product involvement, value consciousness, shariah compliance and attitude. To fulfil the purpose, a quantitative research study surveyed on 200 customers and potential customers of the Islamic banks in Bangladesh. Collected data were analysed using partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling with the help of Smart PLS 2.0 M3 software. Findings reveal that out of six variables, five namely brand equity, brand trust, product involvement, value consciousness and attitude has significant relationship with halal purchase intention. The outcome of this study devotes the Islamic bank managers to make their marketing choices with the help of purchase intention statistics associated with product demand, market segmentation as well as promotional strategies. This research thus tries to fill the gap and contribute in the literature of Islamic marketing and branding.