Factors Influencing Consumers Buying Behavior in Choosing Luxury Brands - Research Proposal Example

Table of contents 2.0 Introduction 3 2.2 Personal values 4 2.3 Social status 5 2.3 Status consumption 7 2.5 Income 7 2.6 Purchasing frequency and product loyalty 8 2.7 Importance of brand loyalty 9 2.8 Brand Quality 10 2.9 The counterfeit theory 11 2.10 Attitudes towards counterfeit products 12 2.10.1 Integrity 13 2.11 Secondary data 13 2.13 Theoretical framework 14 2.14 Hypotheses statement 16 2.14.1 Perceived Quality 16 2.14.2 Perceived Societal Status 16 2.14.3 Brand Loyalty 16 2.14.4 Income Level 16 2.15 Summary of Hypotheses 16 2.16 Research questions 17 Bibliography 18 2.0 Introduction Luxury is a composite term that requires an in-depth analysis. Some theories that relate consumer behavior, for instance, personal values (i.e. materialism, vanity, desire for uniqueness, ethnocentrism and conformity), social status, and demographic factors like age, purchase frequency and pocket money in the view of consumptions of luxury products should be re-examined (Armstrong & Kotler, 2003). 2.1 Luxury According to Dubois & Duquesne (1993), the term luxury refers to a state of great comfort, wellbeing and living extravagant or rather unnecessary but desirable items. Luxury may vary from one person to another. Therefore, luxury may not be easily interpreted, and its discussion is endless. The idea of luxury is as old as humanity (J.Sl, 1991). It is undoubted that luxury and expensive brands must be quality and resilient (Bryman, 2008). The reputation and history are some of the key factors while considering luxury. Most of the luxury statements have components of both exclusivity and selectivity. Interestingly, almost one product/brand may dominate in any single brand category. However, this may not be factual in the modern world (Blackwell et al., 2004). The sense of being stylish is based on this definition. The distinctive qualities of every brand category belong to a particular product (icon) (Arnould et al., 2002). According to a global economic advisor, Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, he gave a definition of luxury as ‘a brand of goods or services with selective/exclusive distributions; customarily higher than the ordinary price of other products/services within the same category; usually with superior quality and design; while arousing strong desires of potential customers’ (Rosecky & King, 2007) and (K.P. et al., 2007. Other people have a mentality that all expensive products are credible and are always the best. Ironically, the quality of expensive products may not be obviously the best, but customers still buy them because they link quality and price. However, according to (Chadha & Husband, 2003) and (Schutte & Ciarlante, 1998), luxury products are not obviously the best, but rather affecting products. It is not the product that is sold, but the price. For this reason, customers like buying luxury products because they are expensive. They bother less on the quality (Komin, 1991). For instance, a very expensive Chanel bag for women may be very heavy to carry around, but they still buy it. In general, luxury could imply any emotional feeling that a person experience about the brand. 2.2 Personal values Wiedmann & Hennigs (2007) argue that personal and other related social issues influence the buying decisions of luxury products. Purchasing to impress other people is an intrinsic personal value that inspires people to buy luxury brands (Liu & Choi, 2009). This intrinsic value drives most of the consumers to develop an exclusive image. Therefore, personal values are backed by: Consumer ethnocentrism- the preference of customers to buy local items to foreign goods clearly identifies the link between consumer buying decisions and consumer ethnocentrism. It is rather the choice of the product without domestic alternative. In fact, this idea is common to all consumers in most parts of the world. Customers with high consumer ethnocentrism levels have good attitudes for goods from countries with similar culture than goods from countries with different cultures (Bouee, 2012), (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1990) and (Hawkins et al., 2001). This idea backs up the account that the consumer ethnocentrism theory is influential when studying people’s attitudes towards imported products. Materialism- this is the belief on the importance of possessions by putting more emphasis on personal material objects. The characteristics of materialistic people, for instance, wear expensive clothes, use expensive bags and drive luxurious vehicles. They have a perception that money signifies wealth and value of richness (Barclays Economics Department, 1998). This makes them live an extravagant life. According to Thais, they believe that a person is what he/she wears. Interestingly, women think that buying luxury bags redefine their social status and identity in the society (J.Sl, 1991). Conformism- this is changing one’s behavior so as to fit a certain level. This change may be due to pressure from others or from personal expectations. With regards to fashion, a person with high conformity value luxury products. Women who are rooted to luxury handbags will not buy any other brand apart from the product they have conformed to (Bearden et al., 1989). In Thailand, women value tangible luxury products, which are a sign of wealth. In essence, they buy them to exhibit their social and financial status (Amine, 1999). Young Thai women, especially the teenagers, ask more money from their parents to buy these expensive brands. Desire to be unique- most Thais like to be dissimilar in their lifestyles. They want to buy products that are totally different and outstanding from others. When they buy these unique brands, they maintain their identity in the society (Kapferer, 1997). In all luxury brands, there is scarcity brand value, and this will help them remain unique and owned by few people. 2.3 Social status This refers to the level of prestige/honor that is bestowed to a person in the society. According to Matthiesen & Phau (2001) and Hawkins et al. (2001), they suggest that Thailand has the least individualism level. This implies that the Thai’s culture is collectivism as opposed to individualism. Thai people like staying in groups, having a lot of fun with friends and family. Therefore, the society promotes cordial relationships, whereby each member is responsible for his/her collogues in the group they belong (BCG Corporation, 1994). This has made each member feel secure and appreciated. Because of this, most people are social- oriented. To own luxury products signifies social status of the owner and image of prestige and success (Matthiesen & Phau, 2001). Jahoda & Warren (2006), Bayus (2001) and World Luxury Association (1998) concluded that, when luxury brands have the capacity to attach esteemed and prestigious values on the customers, social construction and referencing of one’s desire to pose and own their luxury fashions may usually imply a symbolic sign of membership to a particular group (J.Sl, 1991). Furthermore, from the research on ownership of luxury products, a person who owns an original luxurious brand has a belief that he/she is satisfied, admired and appreciated by others. Women with luxurious bags, hanging slightly below their shoulders or on the arms get a lot of recognition and attention anytime they walk out in public (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1990). Thai female students, for instance, perceive that having a luxurious bag publicize them in the form of social status since they belong to high rank people in the society. Coming from such background, they will be recognized and admired by others (Jahoda & Warren, 2006). Therefore, they cultivate high buying intentions, especially when they believe that buying and owning luxury bags make others recognize them. Dubois & Paternaut (2000) claim that luxury products, like bags, taken publicly are likely to be more conspicuous bags than those consumed privately. They further claim that, conspicuous bags have a major role in shaping preferences for several products (bags) that are bought or consumed in the public domain. At the end of the day, consumption of luxury products give a lot of significance to people looking for social status and better representation in the society (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1990). The higher the social status a person wants to get, the higher the conspicuous consumption they explore. As a result, luxury consumption may be significant to individuals in searching for social status and representation in society. The higher the status an individual wants to be, the higher conspicuous consumption they expose (Wong & Ahuvia, 1998). 2.3.1 Status consumption This refers to a group of people who demonstrate their prestige and status to others by being in possession of certain brands. Usually, when consumers have attained certain status in the society, they will be respected, ranked higher and envied by others. The main goal of consumers buying luxury products is to obtain higher societal status. Therefore, it can be concluded that such consumers have negative attitudes the counterfeit products. Such consumers are very sensitive to products they buy so that they do not fall into counterfeits (Arnould et al., 2002). 2.4 Demographics Age - According to most research, it is evident that most Thai women aged between 18 and 24 years are actively exposed to technology and other social media. Their exposure has stirred their desire for celebrity lifestyles, and because they are very active group, they spend most of their money on luxurious products, especially those that uphold their identities (Alpert, 2002). Pocket money- Arnould et al., (2002) perceive that nowadays most of the learned students in universities get a lot of allowances from their parents and provide a ready market for luxury products. For instance, they get allowances up to $1000 per month which is an average salary for a working class (J.Sl, 1991). These amounts are spent luxuriously on stylish items and other related luxury products. A Thai lady in university will spent most of her money in ‘petty’ goods which are dearly admired. Among these are bags. Luxurious bags are very a source of joy for most middle-aged people in Thailand. 2.5 Income Undoubtedly, economic and occupational circumstances greatly affect the consumer buying behavior. The type and quality of brands the customers decide to buy are determined by their economic status (Armstrong & Kotler, 2003). In fact, people neither spend nor plan what they do not have. Luxury bags, for instance, may be a source of interest to most women, but only the financially stable will afford them (Neal et al., 2002). Customers with stable income have a perception that low priced goods are meant to low-income people. Basing on the theory of reasoned action, they associate the low priced bags with low quality that does not belong to their class. As they go up the ladder, they develop negative attitudes towards some brands and associate them with the poor (Bearden et al., 1989). Their income is relative to the products they buy. On the other hand, low income people perceive luxury products as expensive and are exceptionally for the rich. Relative wealth concerns are intensified by the presence of luxury products that signals value and status. As the number of high-income increases, wider market for luxury products widens significantly (World Luxury Association, 1998). 2.6 Purchasing frequency and product loyalty According to the brand attachment theory, there is a long-lasting effect of over commitment to a particular brand leading to brand loyalty (Hankinson, 2003). Ironically, consumers may bond themselves to several brands, e.g. bags, but may not create loyalty to all of them. In essence, consumers may deeply fall in love with some brands that they hardly let go (Kapferer, 1997). They must have them to enjoy their lives; perhaps they feel satisfied when they spend their money on them. The child may be nervous and distressed when he/she is separated from the mother because he/she has deeply fallen in love with her. Likewise, a customer would find it difficult to detach himself/herself from the bags that they have gotten used to (Wong & Ahuvia, 1998) and (Peter & Olson, 1999). They are sorrowful and desperate for the brands that are not available to them. In the same manner, brand loyalty results in the urge to have the products one has attached to. Attachment to brands is a predicament of how frequently a customer buys the product. This saves the buyer the costs of looking and identifying himself or herself to other brands (Liu & Choi, 2009). For consumers to be known loyal to the brand, they should not only make frequent purchases, but also cultivate positive attitudes towards them (Komin, 1991). Scholars who have looked at the brand loyalty have proposed that true loyalty and brand commitment requires the customer to develop psychological and emotional attachment with the brand. For instance, cordial customer-brand relations promote customer brand loyalty and customer’s readiness to pay premium prices. Therefore, there is a close relation of brand attachment to luxury brands and how it leads to customer-brand loyalty (Varey, 2002). Having in mind that it is easier to entertain already existing customers that looking for new ones, it is worth knowing the past buying experiences of consumers for passion for luxury products. Women are known for having regular buying patterns for luxury products (Peter & Olson, 1999). However, not all luxury products are bought, but those that promote the self-esteem of the consumers. For women, luxury bags are one of those luxury products that give them recognition and identity in the society. As new brands are unleashed frequently, they make frequent purchases thus maintaining brand loyalty (Bloch & Richins, 2005). 2.7 Importance of brand loyalty Brand plays a significant role both for consumers and marketers. Businesses that have brand loyal customers have the highest returns and greater market share (Engel et al., 1990). This has made several business organizations to generate and uphold loyalties in the products. In the same manner, customers are assured of quality products when there are loyal and buy frequently. Luxury products require some exclusivity so as to remain marketable and prestigious in the market. Alpert (2002) argued that contented and loyal customers promote the organization’s relative bargaining power with regards to their suppliers and other business partners. Therefore, loyalty of the customer to luxurious products should be perceived as a way of cutting down instability and related risks (Dubois & Paternaut, 2000). In essence, customer loyalty develops positive word of mouth communication and competitive strategies. Luxury bags are costly, and marketers should use good strategies to ensure the flow of sales. 2.8 Brand Quality Consumers usually have a preference for their goods. Apart from putting into consideration performance level of the product, the also consider the best quality of the product (Peter & Olson, 1999). Quality of the bag, as it is in most cases, attracts the consumers more than the value itself. Therefore, before the customers make their final purchasing decision, they have been fully convinced that they have the right quality. Of late, there are several counterfeit brands in the market. Bags are not different in any way, unless the consumer is keen when buying. The psychological feelings of distinguished service make the consumer feel elegant and stylish; more so, gain a sense of superiority and associate himself/herself with successful people (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1990). Premium and Luxury bags are usually expected to exhibit superior quality (Harbour, 1997). High prices make some bags more desirable because most customers associate highly priced goods with quality (Armstrong, G; Kotler, P., 2004). Certainly, luxury bags will lose their value, uniqueness and scarcity attributes if they are not priced well. A lot of literature proposes that quality cue may be used by the consumers in assessing the prestige level of the brand (Blackwell et al., 2004). Low quality bags would send a negative signal about the brand. However, an individual’s quality perception plays a positive role over his/her prestige perception of the same brand especially if the buyer/consumer views the product as having the best quality (Alpert, 2002). There is a perfectionist effect when buyers buy luxury bags and expect superior brands, performance and quality. 2.9 The counterfeit theory In response to marketing literature, counterfeit goods of luxury products are linked to poor quality and low prices (Alpert, 2002). Thai has several counterfeit products that are roaming in the market. Bags are no exception. These counterfeit bags are offered in the broader markets more than the genuine luxury bags thus jeopardizing the exclusivity of real genuine luxury bag brands. Amazingly, there is a growing demand for these counterfeits (Armstrong & Kotler, 2003). This is because they are disposed at cheap prices as compared to the genuine brands, and they deliver expressive value. In a broader perspective, O‟Cass & Frost (2002) are of the opinion that consumers buy these products to associate themselves with the luxurious social groups with least cost possible. By moving around with counterfeit bags, a person can easily be identified as superior, as long as nobody can recognize it is not original. This gives an upper hand to low class groups to enjoy the privileges of the social class they do not really belong (Jahoda & Warren, 2006). In reality, the difference between the genuine and the counterfeit products is price, apart from quality. This difference in price makes the consumer go for counterfeit so as to save some money (Komin, 1991). Furthermore, buying counterfeit products are a fun; they can be bought at any auspicious celebrations as gifts because they are cheap and a replica of the original products (Berry, 2004). This makes the occasion colorful and classy with least financial constraints. According to Amine (1999), there are eight counterfeit product dimensions as per the past research. These are status symbols, worth, exclusive, prestigious, fun, worth paying for, durable and qualitative. In general, counterfeit products (bags) have affected the market conditions. Consumers’ attention has been diverted to luxury fake products instead of genuine brands. However, not all customers go for counterfeit products. Most of the consumers prefer genuine products for their superior quality (McClelland, 2001). In fact, they link prices with quality. On rare occasion do these consumers go for cheap products, but rather prefer spend their money on expensive but quality products (Desmond, 2003). 2.10 Attitudes towards counterfeit products According to McClelland (2001), attitude is the degree to which possesses some good appraisals of the behavior in question and are indications by which his intentions of carrying out certain behavior can be predicted. It may also refer to learned predisposition to react to some situations favorably or unfavorably (Berry, 2004). Attitude is used to predict consumer buying intentions as well as behaviors. A high personal attitude is linked to his intentions, which in turn is a reasonable indication of certain behavior. Customers’ attitudes towards some brands will influence their intentions. Likewise, the attitudes towards counterfeit products as customers’ overall evaluation are a uni-dimensional variable. It is therefore postulated that the attitudes towards counterfeit products leads to consumers withdrawing their buying intentions(Armstrong, G; Kotler, P., 2004). It has been hypothesized that: There is a considerable relationship between buying intentions towards luxury goods and attitudes. Consumers therefore have negative attitudes towards them, and have no buying intentions. Similarly, the attitude towards the counterfeit goods is a mediator between the independent variables (personal identification, value consciousness, loyalty, materialism, perceived quality and personal identification) and the dependent variable (intentions not to buy counterfeit brands). 2.10.1 Integrity This is the personal ethical standards; normally under the law. If consumers value their integrity, especially when counterfeits are rampant, it is obvious that they will cultivate negative attitudes towards them and they will not have any buying intention (Berry, 2004). Nevertheless, consumers lacking ethical standards or with little ethical values will not shy away from the counterfeit products. On the other hand, morally upright consumers will always go for ‘quality’ products. Ironically, consumers who buy counterfeit goods do not feel guilt to have committed any crime. These are the people who support illegal businesses such as counterfeit buying/selling. Law abiding consumers will not make buying decisions to counterfeit products but prefer to but the originals (Dubois & Paternaut, 2000). 2.11 Secondary data Secondary data are data collected by other researchers other than the researcher. Since researcher is a continuous activity, so are the sources. In this research, the researcher will obtain the statistic and secondary data from various sources. These include published books, government publications, periodicals, academic journals/articles, previous research and case studies, which have relevance to consumer buyer behavior of luxury products, demographic segmentations, marketing mix, buying decisions and other sources that relate to consumer behavior (Armstrong & Kotler, 2003). Secondary data is very important because it saves the researcher’s time and money to carry out research. It also helps the researcher acquire initial insight of the problem under study (Armstrong, G; Kotler, P., 2004). Lastly, the researcher will use the Google Scholar websites that provide the researcher sufficient information about the research topic. 2.12 Summary Having all said and done, consumer buying behavior has gotten back-up from various theories that explain it. However, there are other several factors that influence people in making buying decisions of luxury products. These include their income, age, educational level among others (Festinger, 1994). However, this research seeks to do a replication study from the ‘An Exploratory Study on Young Thai Women Consumer Behavior toward Purchasing Luxury Fashion Brands. It will expand the scope of respondents to Thai women aged between 18-60 years. This will assist in getting sufficient evidence on Thai’s approach to luxury products, more so on women. 2.13 Theoretical framework 2.13.1 Introduction It is well known to most marketing strategists that consumer behavior remains a very fundament aspect to both profit-seeking and non-profit seeking organizations. Among other factors, customer value by organizations play a very vital role in influencing consumer buying behavior. It is therefore very important for an organization or company that is seeking to secure a niche in the competitive market environment to consider superior customer value that influences to a greater extent, the consumer behavior. There are some frequently mentioned factors that always come in handy to influencing consumer buying behavior of Thai people in choosing luxury goods. Some of these factors are together with, personal values of consumers, their attitudes, behavior, knowledge, and frequency. Theory of exposure, social status, perception and social consciousness play a very important role in making such variables to influence the buying behavior of consumers. 2.13.2 Independent Variables The independent variables, which are those variables that are able to stand alone in influencing the buying behavior of Thai consumers on luxury products, include income, gender, and educational background. These will directly the buying behavior of the Thai people in the sense that, one’s income will dictate whether to buy a luxurious product or not, ladies tend to like spending on luxurious items than men and the learned also tend to spend more on luxurious goods than the less learned. 2.13.3 Moderating Variables Such are the variables that make the independent variable work well towards achieving the dependent variable. They work hand in hand with the independent variable, or try to have theories that explain the effectiveness of the independent variables. In this case, such variables include consumer behavior factors such as personal values, attitude, buying frequency, and knowledge on the products. With these, there are also consumer behavior theories that act to support the variables towards influencing buying behavior on luxury items. Such theories include; theory of exposure, perception, social status, and collective consciousness. For instance, the theory of exposure tends to make the consumer to be able to receive the information about the product so that they can decide on which to purchase whenever they are faced with several choices. The exposure may be through many means including billboards, radios commercials, print ads, or even social media. Theorists therefore consider it important, the exposure that a consumer receives before they make purchasing decision. The theory of perception depends on how a consumer considers a product might be useful or why they really need the product. A consumer might be having a perception about a given brand, hence they will either be driven to purchase it because of the branch, or not. On the theory of social status, consumers are known for setting their minds to purchase certain products considering their level of exposure with them. An ordinary consumer will only go for products that are considered basic. However, with little education and added exposure, the lifestyle of the consumer may change such that they begin spending much of luxurious products. There is a satisfaction that consumers who purchase luxurious stuff normally want to derive from the being perceived as persons of high social class and powerful. This influences greatly their buying behavior of luxurious items. 2.13.4 Dependent Variable The only vividly expressed dependent variable is the consumer behavior. This is the buying behavior of the consumer which is the result of both the independent and the moderated variables. It comes out strong to influence the buying behavior of the consumers. 2.14 Hypotheses statement Perreault & McCarthy (2002) and Nia & Zaichkowsky (2000) summarized the hypotheses staments of luxury products as indicated below. 2.14.1 Perceived Quality Perceptions of quality influence buying decisions of luxury bags in Thai. Quality bags are priced highly. 2.14.2 Perceived Societal Status Thai people buy luxury bags so as to gain respect from the particular societies or groups they come from. 2.14.3 Brand Loyalty Thais have low brand loyalty to luxury bags 2.14.4 Income Level Luxury bags are meant for the high income consumers 2.15 Summary of Hypotheses There is need to ascertain the facts to confirm the above hypothesis based on the Thai people. 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