Chinedum Obikeze

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 formula. 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.

Acknowledgments
In the course of this study, a few researchers assisted and contributed immensely in developing the methodology for the study. They include: Prof. Donatus Chigbo Ngige, Dr. Ezeh Precious, Dr. Osegbue Francis Ifeanyi, Dr. Ofor Theresa Nkechi, Prof. Mary Margret N. Okeke, Mrs Vivian C. Anetoh and Dr. Egbeh Placid C. Thank you very much and God bless you all. Also, we thank our respondents who supplied us with the needed data that made this study a reality.