Does brand matter?

If it does matter, does it matter all the time? or just some of the time? or not at all?

Last night, my mom and I were discussing essential oil diffusers. In this product arena, brand doesn’t mean much to me. If the machine does what we want: isn’t too loud; lasts long enough; shuts itself off once it runs out of water; isn’t too large; is the right color; and has an appealing shape (some of them are scary looking, seriously scary!) But, if all of that is “right” – well then brand is pretty much out of the equation… Or is it?

We found the same item – different “brand” manufacturers ranging from $20 up to $130 – same feature set, same eye appealing shape, color and yet, just because of the name, were priced differently. Surely there must have been something that sets one apart from the other. Could it be brand name and “Puritans Pride” is more valuable than “Spa Essentials” or even “The Lotus”?? Furthermore, when the same items were for sale by 4 different retailers, does brand matter here? Is Amazon better than Walmart, and is NewLife.com better than the Sharper Image? Does it just boil down to the best price for the same item?

If it did, Target and Walmart wouldn’t compete in the same “space” that they do and no one would ever buy from the Sharper Image except that they DO…

So, the essential (sorry, no pun intended) question is not “does brand matter”… but, instead:

Why does Brand Matter?

Enjoy the holiday…

~ Dawn aka Hat Girl