BRAND LOVE IN THE DIGITAL ERA: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW ON CONSUMER-BRAND RELATIONSHIPS IN ONLINE PLATFORMS

Περίληψη

This study systematically reviews the development of brand love in the digital era by examining how online platforms reshape consumer–brand relationships. The review adopts a systematic literature review approach guided by PRISMA 2020 and synthesizes studies retrieved from major academic databases, particularly Scopus and Web of Science. The analysis focuses on the evolution of brand love research, its theoretical foundations, digital antecedents, relational mechanisms, behavioral outcomes, and emerging research gaps. The findings show that digital marketing, social media engagement, online brand communities, interactivity, user-generated content, and value co-creation have become important contexts for the formation and expression of brand love. Digital platforms extend brand love beyond a dyadic consumer–brand relationship by incorporating consumer–consumer, consumer–community, and technology-mediated interactions. The review also indicates that brand love is associated with outcomes such as loyalty, electronic word of mouth, online advocacy, community participation, brand defense, and co-creation. However, the literature remains fragmented across digital marketing, consumer engagement, online community, and emotional branding streams. Emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, virtual influencers, chatbots, and algorithmic personalization, also create new opportunities and challenges for understanding emotionally driven consumer–brand relationships. This study contributes by integrating these fragmented streams into a coherent perspective of brand love in digital environments and by identifying theoretical, contextual, and methodological directions for future research. The review offers useful implications for scholars and practitioners seeking to strengthen meaningful and enduring consumer–brand relationships in increasingly interactive online settings. In particular, future research should examine cross-platform differences, cultural variations, longitudinal relationship development, and authenticity in AI-mediated brand interactions.