What Distinctive Brand Assets Drive Brand Choice Under Cognitive Constraints: The Sequential Roles of Perceptual Fluency, Associative Memory, and Mental Availability

Abstract

In digitally saturated markets, consumers make purchase decisions under limited attention and cognitive capacity, relying on recognition-based heuristics rather than deliberate evaluation. This study examines how distinctive brand assets influence brand choice through the sequential mediating roles of perceptual fluency, associative memory activation, and mental availability, while testing the moderating role of digital reinforcement. A quantitative explanatory design was employed, and the relationships were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS). The findings show that distinctive brand assets enhance perceptual fluency, which strengthens associative memory activation. Associative memory activation positively affects mental availability, while mental availability increases brand choice. Digital reinforcement significantly moderates the effects of distinctive brand assets on perceptual fluency and associative memory activation, indicating that repeated exposure to brand cues across digital platforms reinforces recognition and memory structures. Mediation analysis confirms that the effect of distinctive brand assets on brand choice is predominantly indirect and operates through a sequential cognitive pathway. These findings extend branding literature by demonstrating that brand choice in digital environments is shaped by cognitive accessibility rather than differentiation-based evaluation. Managerially, the study highlights the importance of consistent visual identity and sustained digital exposure in strengthening brand recognition, memory accessibility, and consumer choice.