What brands do is offer consistency.

When we don’t have all the information, we want to make sure we won’t “die” or make a mistake that we will regret. So in situations of uncertainty, we tend to choose low variability brands over high variability ones.

For example, if I go to a hairdresser that is a chain with over a 100 locations - this provides me with a low variability option - it may not be the best haircut that I could ever get in the world but it also has a lower probability of being the worst one. The same situation is seen here in the invese: If I go to a unique, new independent hairdresser down the road I have a higher probability of getting a worse haircut of my lifetime but also at the same time have a higher chance of receiving an amazing one.

Brands are a way of managing risk.