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This study aims to examine the relationship between Waitrose & Partners and their customers by examining brand perception held amongst consumers. More specifically, the research topic objective is to determine the extent to which Waitrose & Partners can be defined as a passion brand, by firstly exploring a wide breadth of literature dedicated to passion branding, and secondly exploring the brand through the eyes of its consumers and determining the level of which it is a passion brand. By doing so, motivations behind consumer loyalty will be identified as well as the factors of shopping with Waitrose & Partners that consumers find most important to them. Using a qualitative methodological approach, the study interviewed a total of 10 participants who were asked a variety of questions relating to the Waitrose & Partners brand including their shopping experiences, whether they trusted the brand, their customer loyalty to Waitrose & Partners and their opinions regarding the overall brand consistency. Questions for the interviews were influenced from the scholarship explored in the literature review in relation to the concept of passion brands with loyalty, trust and emotion identified as important areas of discussion. Findings show that consumers of Waitrose are to a large extent very loyal to the brand and hold a high degree of respect and admiration for the brand and its values. Findings also demonstrate high levels of trust for the Waitrose & Partners, with consumers projecting the brand as synonymous with quality through its products and customer service. This study is relevant to the current retail climate as it reveals a strong correlation between brand experience and customer service and increased customer loyalty. Thus, the study can provide best practice guidelines for marketing professionals within the retail environment striving to leverage brand passion, emotion, loyalty and trust from consumers and stakeholders.

The central conflict facing policymakers, the voluntary sector, and communities during the Covid-19 pandemic has been keeping safe from a virus that is transmitted interpersonally while also providing vital support to those in need. The report presents the findings from 12 months of ethnographic, participatory, and quantitative research, which has revealed that people have fallen back on their families, neighbourhoods and communities in order to navigate new challenges and burden. We call these networks of kinship and care within and between families, friends, and communities “social infrastructures” and argue that economic life and pandemic recovery relies on the strength of these foundational relations. In the UK, local and rapid response initiatives saved lives as voluntary sector, religious organisations, and Community Champions built on these relations of care to encourage vaccine uptake. These innovative social projects also helped people to grieve and recover from losses of life and livelihoods. We argue that both short- and long-term investment in these integrated social infrastructures is crucial for the post-Covid recovery in the UK.

Rishi Sunak’s job support schemes were ambitious – at least initially. But did they work? In fact, argue the LSE COVID and Care Research Group, they were conceived with a particular kind of worker in mind: an able-bodied white British national who could easily work from home. Future support schemes need to reflect the large numbers of people in precarious, informal work.

This report presents key findings from a 6-month ethnographic study on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on disadvantaged households and communities across the UK conducted by anthropologists from the London School of Economics, and associates. This research involved in-depth interviews and multiple surveys with people across communities in the UK, with particular focus on a number of case studies of intersecting disadvantage. Crucially, our research has found that Government policy can improve adherence to restrictions and reduce the negative impacts of the pandemic on disadvantaged communities by placing central importance on communities, social networks and households to the economy and social life. This would be the most effective way to increase public trust and adherence to Covid-19 measures, because it would recognise the suffering that communities have experienced and would build policy on the basis of what is most important to people - the thriving of their families and communities.