“Assessing multisensory attributes of malt drinks and consumer purchase decisions in South-Eastern Nigeria”

Competition has increased due to the proliferation of different brands of malt drinks in Nigeria. Thus, manufacturers and brand managers of malt drinks need to explore strategic approaches to acquiring and retaining their customers. However, this paper assessed the multisensory attributes of malt drinks and consumer purchase decisions in South-Eastern Nigeria. The study population comprises consumers of Maltina, Malta Guinness, Amstel Malta, Dubic Malt, and Grand Malt in South-Eastern Nigeria. A sample size of 384 consumers of malt brands was determined using Topman for- mula. A convenience sampling technique was adopted, and respondents were drawn from five states such as Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research method. Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability were estimated to check the internal consistency of the study constructs. The structural equation modeling technique was used in data analysis. Findings revealed that the visual attribute of malt has a significant positive relationship with consumer purchase decisions. It was also revealed that malt brand gustatory attribute has a significant positive relationship with consumer purchase decisions. Similarly, it was revealed that the tactile attribute of malt brand has a significant positive relationship with consumer purchase decisions. Finally, it was revealed that the malt brand olfactory attribute has a significant positive relationship with consumer purchase decisions. Therefore, manufacturers and brand managers of malt should improve on packaging their malt brands by strategically adapting a multisensory synergy to guarantee wider consumer purchase and experience toward ensuring more customer satisfaction, patronage, and increased profits for the organizations. companies can become a “Victor.” However, consumer behavior is a roller coaster, which consequently thrusts enormous responsibility on organizations to understudy the consumers and evolve a strategic and sustainable method of satisfying and delighting them in all their needs. It auto-matically became germane for companies to gain adequate information and knowledge about the consumers to understand their behavior and what spurs them into purchase action. Most importantly, manufacturers and brand managers have deployed various media channels to offer incessant advertising bombardments to influence consumer behavior. Interestingly, making a purchase decisions for contemporary consumers had become more complicated as there are many different products and brands of products, which they pursue. This study provides a contemporary understanding that malt drinks’ multisensory attributes are significantly and positively related to consumer purchase decisions in Nigeria, which have relevant practical, theoretical, and managerial implications to the malt manufacturers and brand managers. Malt manufacturers and managers are expected to develop a strong bond between their products and their customers based on this re-search’s findings. The study predicting variables are important and significant drivers of consumer purchase decisions. Gustatory attributes of malt play the most important role in predicting and influencing consumer purchase decisions of malt drinks in Nigeria. Convincingly, malt brand visual, tactile, and olfactory attributes also play a major role in propelling and facilitating consumer purchase decisions. The study has also contributed to the body of existing knowledge by conceptually providing a comprehensive explanation of multisensory product attributes and consumer purchase decisions. This study has theoreti-cally contributed to the body of existing theories in the field of multisensory marketing. This study’s findings have contributed to identifying the nature and extent of the relationship between multisensory attributes of malt drinks and consumer purchase decisions. The introduction of mediating and moderating variables has also helped in advancing the already existing multisensory and consumer behavior theories and theoretical models. In similar terms, the findings of this study will be of great significance to malt manufacturers, brand managers, and other stakeholders in the industry. They will always integrate the multisensory aspect of their brands in communicating with their various stakeholders. It will also serve as an information repository threshold to the malt manufacturers, brand managers, and marketers, and other stakeholders in food and beverage companies for strategic policy formulations and implementations. Further, this research has exhibited a strong analytical prowess in its methodology that has contributed significantly to the extant literature through the application of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling technique; a second-generation multivariate statistical technique developed to simultaneously es-timate the relationships between the exogenous and endogenous constructs or complex relationships among constructs. This research has also supplied empirical evidence that there are significant and quantifiable relationships between the predicting variables and consumer purchase decisions of malt brands, as reflected in the findings of this study.


INTRODUCTION
Surviving the challenges posed by the marketing environment had been highly dynamic and competitive. Hence, only customer-centric companies can become a "Victor." However, consumer behavior is a roller coaster, which consequently thrusts enormous responsibility on organizations to understudy the consumers and evolve a strategic and sustainable method of satisfying and delighting them in all their needs. It automatically became germane for companies to gain adequate information and knowledge about the consumers to understand their behavior and what spurs them into purchase action. Most importantly, manufacturers and brand managers have deployed various media channels to offer incessant advertising bombardments to influence consumer behavior. Interestingly, making a purchase decisions for contemporary consumers had become more complicated as there are many different products and brands of products, which they pursue.
Nevertheless, perception is universally multisensory and never uni-sensory as the brain-controlled sense organs stimulate consumers. Thus, because customers generally establish a deeper attachment with a product through multisensory appeal, they consider how the product is perceived when it is tasted, when it is seen, when it is touched, when it is smelled, and when it is heard during purchase. Indisputably, the autonomous and independent functioning of the different sense organs in isolation is abnormal. Therefore, consumer's brand perception, association, and purchase experience through multisensory synergy becomes very logical and germane. Pramudya and Seo (2019) highlighted that although there is the interdependency of the multisensory perception and adoption of a product or brand, they may at different situations possess dominance over each other in consumer perception, evaluation, purchase, and consumption, or usage of that particular product or brand. Rodrigues, Hulten, and Brito (2011) submitted that as consumers are inextricable to multisensory brand association and experience, every marketing offering must be focused on them in a unique and specific manner.
Based on previous studies on the relationships between multisensory variables and consumers' purchase decisions, there are still contradictions in the literature (Ray & Shiny, 2017). Therefore, further empirical justification is needed to support or refute these previous scholars' findings on the nature of the relationships between visual, gustatory, tactile, and olfactory product attributes and consumer purchase decisions. Consequently, and based on the available literature, it was discovered that no study in Nigeria to the best of the researchers' knowledge has dwelt with assessing the extent of the relationship between multisensory attributes of malt drinks and consumer purchase decisions. Thus, to close this gap in the literature, this study is significant and seeks to satisfy many stakeholders, especially in the beverage industry.

Research aims
This study has a high trajectory in stimulating the awareness and commitment of manufacturers and brand managers about the consciousness of consumers' five senses and how they contribute profoundly to consumer purchase decisions. Therefore, the focus is for manufacturers and brand managers to incorporate the extrinsic and intrinsic multisensory product attributes in developing and packaging their products to their various stakeholders. Also, this study will expose consumers to be mentally alert and capable of perceiving the multisensory attributes each time they want to make a purchase decision. Consumers will out of their own volition and wisdom make a rational and logical effort by embarking on multisensory perception with great anticipation that this will improve their satisfaction through favorable purchase decisions.

Objectives of the study
The main objective of this research is to assess the relationship between multisensory attributes of malt brands and consumer purchase decisions. The specific objectives of this study are: 1. To investigate the relationship between the malt brand visual attribute and consumer purchase decision. 2. To examine the relationship between the malt brand gustatory attribute and consumer purchase decision. 3. To determine the relationship between the malt brand tactile attribute and consumer purchase decision. 4. To assess the relationship between the malt brand olfactory attribute and consumer purchase decision.

Research questions
Based on the objectives of this study, the following research questions were raised: 1. What is the extent of the relationship between malt brand visual attribute and consumer purchase decision? 2. What is the extent of the relationship between malt brand gustatory attribute and consumer purchase decision? 3. What is the extent of the relationship between malt brand tactile attribute and consumer purchase decision? 4. What is the extent of the relationship between malt brand olfactory attribute and consumer purchase decision?

Visual attribute and consumer purchase decision
Sight is an important cue and a major factor required during product evaluation and actual purchase ( H2: There is a significant positive relationship between malt brand gustatory attribute and consumer purchase decisions.

Tactile attribute and consumer purchase decision
The tactile attribute of a product also influences consumer purchase decisions (Gallace & Spence, 2014). Tactile attribute focuses on product physical attention that leads to consumer purchase evaluation and action (Bulsara & Trivedi, 2016 In fact, the more a consumers grab a product, the more likely they would want to pay for the product. Nonetheless, Saariluomaand and Jokinen (2014) observed that consumers could boycott a product after feeling tactile dissonance. Zhang, Chen, Guo, Liu, Su, Guan, and Zhu (2016) found a correlation between a product and its tactile cues. Similarly, Wang and Wu (2017) found that a product's tactile characteristics has a significant positive association with consumer purchase decisions. Based on these narrations, what is the extent of the relationship between malt brand tactile attribute and consumer purchase decision? To answer this question, the researchers tentatively hypothesize that: H3: There is a significant positive relationship between malt brand tactile attribute and consumer purchase decisions. H4: There is a significant positive relationship between malt brand olfactory attribute and consumer purchase decisions.

Related theories a. The senses theory
As propounded by Parimala (2014), the senses theory acknowledged that one can evaluate a product attribute based on the visual, gustatory, auditory, tactile, and olfactory senses. According to this theory, a consumer may evaluate a product attribute using single sensory or multisensory modal-ities. This theory assumes that when a consumer or a prospect evaluates a product by vision, taste, sound, smell, and texture, it is a single sensory assessment or evaluation. On the other hand, when evaluating a product involves the interaction or integration of five senses, it is a multisensory evaluation of the product. Relating it to the present study, the senses theory houses all the independent variables needed in this study. Therefore, this study on the relationship between the sensory attributes and consumer purchase decisions has all the independent variables originated from this theory and also anchored on it.
1.8. Proposed conceptual model for the study

DATA AND METHODS
The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. The target population of the study comprises the consumers of the selected malt brands in Southeastern Nigeria. The population size for this study is unknown, and the sampling frame does not exist because there is no record or database in the study areas that revealed a specified number of malt customers. The sample size of 384 consumers of selected malt brands (Maltina, Malta Guinness, Amstel Malta, Dubic Malt, and Grand Malt) was determined using Topman formula to determine the sample size of the unknown population. However, respondents were drawn from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states in South-eastern Nigeria using the state capitals, namely Umuahia, Awka, Abakaliki, Enugu, and Owerri. The study adopted a non-probability sampling technique because of the absence of a sampling frame, which made the use of probability sampling technique (simple random, systematic, and stratified sampling methods) impossible to be used in this study.
Therefore, a convenience sampling technique, which is a non-probability sampling procedure, was adopted. Malt consumers aged 18 years and older found drinking the selected malt brands under investigation from the selected sales outlets in the geographical areas under study were surveyed. Because of consumers' dynamic and unpredictable nature, the implementation of the convenience sampling method was achieved by using only malt consumers who were present and also seen drinking or consuming the required malt brands under investigation in those chosen sales outlets segmented across the geographical areas under examination. Importantly, the use of the convenience sampling method was supported by Eboh (2009) that maintained that the researcher can use the sample units that are available at the time of data collection since the overriding principle is based on respondents' availability and researcher's convenience. Besides, the restriction on age became pivotal as persons below the age of 18 in Nigeria are legally considered as minors with limited capacity for independent decisions. The rationale for using only adult malt consumers was to elicit informed responses to the questions raised for the survey.
The source of data collection was the primary source facilitated using self-administered copies of the questionnaire as the survey instrument. The questionnaire items were extracted from the extant literature.
The scales used in this study were adapted from previous studies and modified to suit the context of the present study. The measurement scales were adapted from the previous studies ( (2017), as shown in Table 1.

Administration of the instrument, method of data collection and analysis
The questionnaire was administered to adult malt consumers of at least 18 years or older who were found drinking the malt brand under assessment in those selected bars, restaurants, and fast-food joints in commercial cities of Awka, Enugu, Abakaliki, Owerri, and Umuahia. Besides, copies of the questionnaire were distributed to the respondents by the researchers across the selected sales outlets used for the survey. Geographical coverage, even spread of the outlets, popularity of the sales outlets, presence of large market share of malt consumers were some of the criteria adopted. Details on how the instrument was allocated, distributed, retrieved, and used for analysis are contained in Appendix C. Furthermore, the time horizon for the field survey was cross-sectional, whereby the copies of the questionnaire were distributed to the respondents only once within the stipulated period. The data collection lasted for 82 days at different periods to minimize sampling bias and obtain a varied blend of respondents (Kok & Fon, 2014). Data generated from the respondents were presented in frequency tables. Descriptive statistics analysis was used to describe the data generated from the respondents. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the hypotheses formulated for the study at 5% level of significance. This was facilitated using Smart PLS-SEM version 3. The decision rule for the acceptance or rejection of the hypotheses is to accept the alternative hypothesis if the p-value is less than 0.05; otherwise, reject.

Respondent's profile
The researcher distributed 384 copies of the questionnaire to the respondents, 356 copies (92.7% response rate) were properly filled and validated for the data analysis, while 28 copies (7.3%) were not used for the analysis. Based on the useable sample, 34% of the respondents were males, while 66% of the respondents were females, which revealed the dominance of females segment over males in the survey.

Descriptive statistics
A cursory analysis of the descriptive statistics based on the respondents' mean responses, as shown in Table 2, revealed the degree of importance and the rank of each of the constructs and indicators used in measuring sensory purchasing motives. Based on field survey analysis, the malt brand gustatory attribute is the most important variable that enhances consumer purchase decisions as rated by the respondents, followed by brand olfactory attribute, brand visual attribute, and brand tactile attribute. Also, the highest indicator ranked by malt consumers is GUS2, which represents low sugar taste, while VIS4 that is the shape of a particular malt brand bottle/can/pack is the lowest appreciated indicator, as revealed by the descriptive statistics based on field survey findings.  Table 2, implies that all the indicators and the study constructs have relevant and significant influence levels in providing solutions to the research questions or objectives of this research ranging from somewhat important to extremely important. This implies that, on average, consumer values and decides to purchase malt brands based on the sensory attributes.

Assessment of the structural model
The significance and relevance of the structural model were evaluated based on the values of the path coefficients, statistical t-values, and the p-values. The hypotheses were tested and assessed through the bootstrapping procedure in Smart PLS 3.0 (Ramayah, 2015). The study adopted the standardized root mean square residual (SRMS), the root mean square residual covariance (RMS theta ), and normed fit index (NFI) as the measures for the assessment of PLS-SEM goodness of fit. The three models fit measures results show that the SRMR value is 0.041, RMS theta value is 0.0255, and the NFI value is 0.912, which portrayed a well-fitting model. This implies that the model is well fitted for the data and that the threshold for acceptance of the fitness of the model used in the study was therefore met. The coefficient of determination (R 2 ) measures the total variance explained in the endogenous construct as a result of changes in the model's exogenous variables. The model explains the significant positive variance of 0.775 (77.5%) for consumer purchase decisions. The R 2 value generated showed the substantial power of the exogenous constructs to explain the endogenous construct, which is clearly above the threshold given that the R 2 values of 0.75, 0.50, and 0.25 represent substantial, moderate, and weak, respectively (Hair, Hult, Ringle, & Sarstedt, 2017). Accordingly, Table 3 depicts the PLS-SEM results for the test of hypothesized relationships postulated.
Considering that the path coefficient should be equal to or greater than 0.20 to demonstrate its significance, the t-value should be ≥ 1.96, while the p-value should be ≤ 0.05 to be significant (Wong, 2013). An examination of the path coefficients, t-values and p-values of the structural model in Table 3 show that malt brand visual attribute had a positive significant relationship with consumer purchase decision (β = 0.238, t = 3.701, p < 0.05). Also, malt brand gustatory attribute had a positive significant relationship with consumer purchase decision (β = 0.426, t = 10.118, p < 0.05). Similarly, tactile attribute of malt brand had a significant positive relationship with consumer purchase decision (β = 0.219, t = 2.799, p < 0.05). Finally, malt brand olfactory attribute had a positive significant relationship with consumer purchase decision (β = 0.415, t = 9.586, p < 0.05). Accordingly, all the hypotheses (H1, H2, H3, and H4) were supported.

DISCUSSION
The results presented in Table 3 indicated that malt brand visual attribute had a significant pos-itive relationship with consumer purchase decisions. The findings of the study are in accordance with the findings within the extant literature (Krishna, 2012; Zia, 2017) that found that visual attributes of a product or brand have a significant positive relationship with consumer purchase decisions. The research findings corroborate with the a priori expectations of the conceptual model used for this study, which states that the brand visual attribute of malt has  , 2011), which found that tactile attributes positively relate to consumer purchase decisions. Also, the finding of this work is in tandem with Goel and Sathwara (2016) who found that the more opportunities for physical touch-points available to customers, the more likely they will decide to make purchase decisions. Besides, the finding of this research is in accordance with the findings of Streicher and Etes (2016). Nevertheless, this is contrary to the findings of Muntaha (2016) that revealed that tactile attribute has no significant influence on consumer purchase decisions.
Furthermore, the olfactory attribute of malt brands has a significant positive relationship with consumer purchase decisions. This study's finding is in tune with the findings of Balla and Deari (2015) who found that olfaction significantly influences product purchase. In line with this, Chatterjee (2017) confirmed in his study that the influence of fragrance on consumer choice and purchase decision was significant. Similarly, Pezoldt et al. (2014) found that ambient scent significantly influences consumer purchase decisions. Moreover, the finding of this research is in agreement with the findings of Elangovan and Padma (2017) who found that olfaction positively influences consumer purchase decisions. This is because it places the consumer in a state of emotional equilibrium. This study's finding is also in line with the findings of Anggie and Haryanto (2011) who found that olfaction is a very important factor in product evaluation and consumer purchase decisions. Furthermore, the finding of this study is in accordance with the finding of Moore (2014) and opposes Gueguen and Petr (2006) findings that revealed an insignificant relationship between product olfaction and consumer purchase decision. It means that olfaction is indispensable to consumer purchase decisions as supported by Goncalves, Srebernich, Vercelino, and Zampieri (2013).

CONCLUSION
This study provides a contemporary understanding that malt drinks' multisensory attributes are significantly and positively related to consumer purchase decisions in Nigeria, which have relevant practical, theoretical, and managerial implications to the malt manufacturers and brand managers. Malt manufacturers and managers are expected to develop a strong bond between their products and their customers based on this research's findings. The study predicting variables are important and significant drivers of consumer purchase decisions. Gustatory attributes of malt play the most important role in predicting and influencing consumer purchase decisions of malt drinks in Nigeria. Convincingly, malt brand visual, tactile, and olfactory attributes also play a major role in propelling and facilitating consumer purchase decisions.
The study has also contributed to the body of existing knowledge by conceptually providing a comprehensive explanation of multisensory product attributes and consumer purchase decisions. This study has theoretically contributed to the body of existing theories in the field of multisensory marketing. This study's findings have contributed to identifying the nature and extent of the relationship between multisensory attributes of malt drinks and consumer purchase decisions. The introduction of mediating and moderating variables has also helped in advancing the already existing multisensory and consumer behavior theories and theoretical models. In similar terms, the findings of this study will be of great significance to malt manufacturers, brand managers, and other stakeholders in the industry. They will always integrate the multisensory aspect of their brands in communicating with their various stakeholders. It will also serve as an information repository threshold to the malt manufacturers, brand managers, and marketers, and other stakeholders in food and beverage companies for strategic policy formulations and implementations.
Further, this research has exhibited a strong analytical prowess in its methodology that has contributed significantly to the extant literature through the application of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling technique; a second-generation multivariate statistical technique developed to simultaneously estimate the relationships between the exogenous and endogenous constructs or complex relationships among constructs. This research has also supplied empirical evidence that there are significant and quantifiable relationships between the predicting variables and consumer purchase decisions of malt brands, as reflected in the findings of this study.
Suggestively, because the present study concentrated on the South-Eastern part of Nigeria, there is a need to expand the scope in future research to cover other geographical zones in Nigeria. The need to also investigate sensory purchasing motives for beer brands as a good number of Nigerian youths and even adults (male and female) do drink beer brands. Future studies may use a longitudinal type of survey design and procedure since the present study adopted a cross-sectional method. Besides, there is a need for experimental or causal research design in a future study to compare its results with the findings of this study.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In the course of this study, a few researchers assisted and contributed immensely in developing the methodology for the study.

APPENDIX A b. The consumer purchase decision theory
This theory by Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel (2005) stated that a consumer undergoes a seven-point pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase decision stages. According to this theory, the consumer decision process starts from need identification, gathering of relevant information, pre-purchase evaluation of product attributes and alternatives, consumer purchase decision, consumption, post-consumption evaluation, and divestment. The first stages in the consumer decision-making process aid in identifying and satisfying the consumer's needs and wants. The second stage is to embark on an information search. The third stage is the evaluation of product attributes and alternatives to establish purchase intention. A consumer purchase intention influences the actual consumer purchase decision, which is the fourth stage in the consumer decision-making process. Consumption is the fifth stage, while post-consumption evaluation, which culminates into satisfaction or dissatisfaction, is the sixth stage. The seventh stage in the decision-making process is divestment, which acknowledges if the product purchased and consumed will be disposed of or not. Relating this theory to the study entails that consumer purchase decision, which is the dependent variable of this study, stems from the fourth stage of this theory and also is rooted in it.