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Conceptualizing luxury buying behavior: The Indian perspective

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DOI: 10.1108/JPBM-07-2014-0655

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 Journal of Product & Brand Management
Conceptualizing luxury buying behavior: the Indian perspective
Varsha Jain Subhadip Roy Ashok Ranchhod
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 Conceptualizing luxury buying behavior: the
Indian perspective
Varsha Jain
Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad, India
Subhadip Roy
Indian Institute of Management, Udaipur, India, and
Ashok Ranchhod
Winchester School of Arts, University of Southampton, Winchester, UK

Abstract
Purpose – The study aims to draw on existing knowledge and investigates how luxury is perceived in a developing nation with economic and
cultural diversity. The present study aims to develop a conceptual framework to understand luxury buying behavior in a developing nation context.
Design/methodology/approach – The study utilizes qualitative research (focus group discussions) with 72 luxury consumers (and partly with
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practitioners) of apparel and accessories in two major metro cities and two major non-metro cities of India.
Findings – A framework of luxury buying behavior was constructed with cultural background, antecedents, buying process and post-purchase
consequences of luxury buying behavior as its sub-constructs. Gender was identified as a moderating variable between antecedents of purchase and
purchase behavior.
Research limitations/implications – The most important contribution of the present study is the creation of a comprehensive framework of luxury
buying behavior within a developing nation context and a set of testable propositions to further validate using quantitative research.
Practical implications – Provides the manager with a workable model of luxury buying behavior that he/she could use to generate the right
consumer responses.
Originality/value – The present study is the first of its kind which integrates cultural backdrop, antecedents and consequences of luxury
consumption in the context of a developing nation.
Keywords India, Conceptual model, Consumer behavior, Qualitative research, Focus group discussion, Luxury branding
Paper type Research paper

An executive summary for managers and executive
readers can be found at the end of this issue.
1. Introduction
The association between human beings and luxury goes
through millennia, and it was often reserved for the elite in
society. However, with rapid globalization, purchasing luxury
items has come within the grasp of an ordinary person (Hader,
2008; Eng and Bogaert, 2010; Brun and Castelli, 2013)
throughout the world (Wong and Ahuvia, 1998). Global
spending on luxury brands has increased and is expected to
reach USD40 trillion by 2020 (ASSOCHAM, 2013). Asian
countries such as Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and South
Korea have developed luxury markets with India and China
also growing rapidly (Chadha and Husband, 2007; Dasgupta,
2009).
Prior research in luxury buying emphasized the role of
culture and demographics in influencing luxury consumption
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
(Hung et al., 2011; Godey et al., 2013). Although the meaning
and perceptions of luxury may vary across countries and
cultures (Miller and Mills, 2012), the motivations and
objectives behind its purchase may be similar (Hennigs et al.,
2012). Researchers have investigated the meaning and
anatomy of luxury brands, often from the practitioner’s
perspective (Fionda and Moore, 2009) or conceptually (Miller
and Mills, 2012; Ghosh and Varshney, 2013) and not very
often from a consumer perspective. The changing profile of
luxury consumers in Asia makes it all the more urgent to
investigate the perception of luxury and its consequences from
the consumers’ perspective in the Asian context. The present
study investigates the luxury consumption behavior of the
Indian consumers and develops a conceptual model of luxury
consumption that incorporates antecedents of luxury buying,
the luxury buying process, the consequences and moderating
factors influencing various relations in the model based on a
set of focus group discussions (FGDs). The rest of the paper
is organized as follows. The next section provides a review of
the literature on luxury branding and luxury consumption
followed by the research objectives. The next two sections
elaborate on the research methodology and the results. The

Journal of Product & Brand Management

24/3 (2015) 211–228 The authors would like to thank Mudra Institute of Communications
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421] Ahmedabad (MICA) for providing funding support for the research study.
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-07-2014-0655] The funding was majorly used for data collection, coding and analysis.

211
 Conceptualizing luxury buying behavior
Varsha Jain, Subhadip Roy and Ashok Ranchhod
discussions follow this, and the paper concludes with the
limitations and scope of the research carried out.
2. Literature review
Luxury is about showcasing a product as a brand with crafted
symbols, signs, images and creating a world of dreams
(Berthon et al., 2009). The following section provides a
detailed literature review on the definitions and overview of
luxury branding and facets of consumer behavior associated
with luxury consumption.
2.1 Defining luxury
The early thoughts on luxury consumption could be attributed
to Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Class who first determined
that purely conspicuous consumers derive satisfaction from
the display of wealth and not from the functional value of the
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product (O’Cass and Frost 2004; Truong et al., 2008).
Berthon et al.’s (2009) definition of luxury (“Luxury cannot
be reduced to one sphere”) summarizes the expanse of the
meaning of luxury. Researchers in the past few decades
have defined luxury as individualistic, relative and
multidimensional, associating it with lavishness, magnificence,
comfort, sumptuousness, opulence and extravagance (Khan,
2006). According to Heine (2012, p. 40) “Luxury is anything
that is desirable and more than necessary and ordinary” that
implies exclusivity (Phau and Prendergast, 2001). The
possession of luxury goods provide social acceptance along
with conveying social image and personal taste (Mason,
1993).
However, with globally changing consumer characteristics,
the core meaning of luxury is no longer an indicator of
superiority but is focused on comfort and pleasure (Granot
et al., 2013) and is known as “New Luxury” (Okonkwo,
2007). In the modern era, luxury is related to experience and
feelings of the consumers (Danziger, 2011) with emphasis on
self-indulgence and pampering (Twitchell, 2002). Luxury
consumers are influenced by hedonism, lifestyle and other
psychographic characteristics (Husic and Cicic, 2009), and
the basic motive behind luxury consumption is to satisfy
functional, financial, personal and social needs (Eng and
Bogaert, 2010).
2.2 Overview of luxury branding
Although the concept of luxury may be a socio-cultural
phenomenon, the concept of luxury brands is essentially
related to marketing:
Luxury brands are regarded as images in the minds of consumers that
comprise associations about a high level of price, quality, aesthetics, rarity,
extraordinariness and a high degree of non-functional associations (Heine,
2012, p. 60).
Luxury brands are associated with quality, emotion and rarity
for the consumers (Pilelienė, 2012). Luxury brands provide
functional (physical benefits), symbolic (status, social
standing and recognition) and experiential (emotions,
feelings, sensation, etc.) values to consumers (Berthon et al.,
2009). Luxury brands also provide psychological and sensory
gratification (Hagtvedt and Patrick, 2009), financial and
individual satisfaction (Wiedmann et al., 2007) with prestige
and status (Mason, 1993).
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Volume 24 · Number 3 · 2015 · 211–228
Phau and Prendergast (2001) found luxury brands evoke
exclusivity, a strong identity, brand awareness and perceived
quality, retaining sales and customers’ loyalty. Nueno and
Quelch (1998) mentioned, “luxury brands are those whose
ratio of functionality to price is low, while the ratio of
intangible and situational utility to price is high”. Vigneron
and Johnson (2004) found that luxury brands need to be rated
high on five dimensions, namely, perceived conspicuousness,
uniqueness, extended-self, hedonism and quality to create a
long-lasting effect in the market.
2.3 Culture and luxury consumption
Luxury perceptions are based on cultural norms and personal
beliefs (Eng and Bogaert, 2010). Cultural norms influence
consumers’ motivation for buying and consuming luxury
goods, whereas cultural differences influence the symbolic
traits of the brand (Christodoulides et al., 2009). Kapferer
(1998) found different categories of consumers to develop
specific attributes for particular type of brands. The Western
society’s concept of luxury could differ from the Eastern
society, and thus, it may be incorrect to presume that Western
values are traded along with their goods (Wong and Ahuvia,
1998). Hence, generalization about a common “global luxury
consumer” may not be an appropriate thinking.
Prior studies reflect that Western countries are oriented
toward privately self-conscious consumption patterns,
whereas Eastern nations follow a publicly self-conscious
consumption pattern (Wong and Ahuvia, 1998; Phau and
Prendergast, 2001). The publicly self-conscious person
focuses on his/her outward appearance and social roles,
whereas a privately driven individual emphasizes on the inner
thoughts, feelings, preferences, tastes and personal values as
outlined in the self-consciousness theory (Vigneron and
Johnson, 1999). This implies that the consumption of luxury
brands would be affected by the consumer culture of a
country. In this regard, Dubois et al. (2001) performed a
mixed method cross-cultural study in 20 countries and
defined luxury as a combination of six dimensions: price,
quality, uniqueness, aesthetics, personal history and
superfluousness. DeBarnier et al. (2000) carried a
cross-cultural study in France, UK and Russia and found four
facets common to three countries: aesthetics, premium
quality, personal history and expensiveness. However,
DeBarnier et al. (2000) found some differences between
countries. Although product conspicuousness and aspirations
were relevant to France, luxury atmospherics was only
relevant to UK and functionality being relevant to both Russia
and UK. Russian consumers appeared to prize uniqueness.
DeBarnier et al. (2000) attributed the differences to varying
cultural practices, climate, language and habits. Hennigs et al.
(2012) found similar cross-country differences on luxury
perceptions and consumer attitudes across four dimensions of
luxury value perceptions, namely, financial, functional,
individual and social.
A study on Asian consumers (represented by Singapore and
Hong Kong consumers) found them to place importance on
popularity of the brand and wanted to gain acceptability in
their reference group or social circle through consumption
(Phau and Prendergast, 2001). Eng and Bogaert (2010) found
luxury consumption to be associated with socio-economic
 Conceptualizing luxury buying behavior
Varsha Jain, Subhadip Roy and Ashok Ranchhod
status, personal values and symbolic meaning, whereas
Sengupta (2007) found material possession through luxury
consumption was a means of assessing the self and others in
India.
2.4 Luxury consumption behavior
Researchers have investigated several aspects of luxury
branding and consumer behavior, such as meaning of luxury
(Kapferer, 1998; Nueno and Quelch, 1998; Brun and Castelli,
2013), cross-cultural perceptions of luxury (Dubois et al.,
2001; EngandBogaert, 2010; Wiedmann et al., 2007; Hennigs
et al., 2012; Godey et al., 2013), marketing of luxury brands
(Vigneron and Johnson, 2004; Atwal and Williams, 2009;
Kapferer and Bastien, 2009; Keller, 2009), luxury brand
counterfeits (Nia andZaichkowsky, 2000; Wilcox et al., 2009)
and practitioners perspective on luxury brands (Fionda and
Moore, 2009). Notable papers about the consumer buying
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process are customer orientation, (Lee et al., 2008), aesthetic
experience of luxury brands, (Venkatesh et al., 2010),
consumer motives and motivations (Truong, et al., 2010;
Sierra and Hyman, 2011) and consumers’ purchase intentions
of luxury brands (Kamenidou et al., 2007; Truong et al., 2010;
Amatulli and Guido, 2011). Consumption of luxury also
varies with consumer taste and preferences (Daswani and Jain,
2011) and may be affected by internal (personality, motives,
perception) or external stimuli (marketing, environment,
social class, family, reference) (Jalalkamali and Nikbin, 2010;
Shukla, 2011). Peers and reference groups have been found to
affect luxury purchase decisions (Becherer et al., 1982;
Childers and Rao, 1992).
2.5 Luxury and gender
Gender has been found to moderate luxury buying decisions
(Meyers-Levy, 1989; Meyers-Levy and Maheswaran, 1991;
Meyers-Levy and Sternthal, 1991). Male consumers focus on
functional traits of the objects, whereas female consumers
emphasize on the structural relations and interpretive
dimensions (Jausovec and Jausovec, 2009). Female
consumers generally involve in comprehensive processing
than males (Meyers-Levy and Maheswaran, 1991; Meyers-
Levy and Sternthal, 1991). Although male consumers use
single inference heuristic cues derived from the nature of the
task, female consumers use a holistic approach after
processing all the cues extensively (Meyers-Levy, 1989;
Meyers-Levy and Maheswaran, 1991; Meyers-Levy and
Sternthal, 1991). Very few researchers on gender differences
in luxury consumption (Atwal and Khan, 2008) have
supported the same thoughts.
2.6 Marketing stimuli and luxury consumption
Marketing stimuli such as a premium price could relate to
higher status, and thus, luxury purchase may happen for the
possession motive rather than the functional benefits (Moore
and Birtwistle, 2005). Similar studies (Mandhachitara and
Lockshin, 2004) suggest a relation between luxury brands and
high price. Product features such as quality (Dubois et al.,
2001) and design have also been found to be determining
factors of luxury consumption in certain product categories
(Prendergast and Wong, 2003). Finally, luxury perceptions
have also been investigated from the point of view of perceived
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Volume 24 · Number 3 · 2015 · 211–228
contracts with customers and the effects of the same on brand
extensions (Veg-Sala and Roux, 2014).
3. Research gaps and objectives
The body of literature regarding luxury brands is diverse and
does not directly focus on the consumer behavior within a
particular cultural context. Existing consumer values differ with
the context and are formulated by personal and social ethos
(Jain et al., 2012). Prior empirical studies support the role of
culture in luxury consumption (Hung et al., 2011; Hennigs
et al., 2012). There also exist studies examining the Western
culture with Far-Eastern countries that highlight the
differences in meanings and motives behind luxury
consumption across countries (Godey et al., 2013). However,
few studies focus on the actual buying process of luxury
brands (Miller and Mills, 2012) including the effect of
intrinsic and extrinsic cues that influence the consumers’
decision (Truong et al., 2010). The present study tries to fill
this gap and explores the perception, motives and buying
behavior of luxury brands in India. The present study employs
Keegan et al.’s (1992) consumer buying behavior model
(stimuli-organism-response [S-O-R]) as the theoretical
framework. The model states that a consumer reacts in a
particular way to various stimuli after processing them in their
mind. The model also mentions that external dimensions are
considered to be stimulus. Consumers integrate the external
stimuli with their personal traits (internal stimulus) in the
decision-making process. The model also emphasizes on the
influence of external parameters or the marketing exposure of
the consumers in determining the actual decision-making
process (Monga and Chaudhary, 2011).
India was chosen for the present study, as it owns diverse
cultural values and plays a significant role in luxury
consumption. Second, Indians possess unique values and
principles and retain their traditions after integrating local and
modern styles of consumption (Dasgupta, 2009). Indian
consumers follow a mix of unique traditional and global trends
of consumption (Ghosh and Varshney, 2013). Third, India
invests highly on luxury items and is considered as a promising
market with long-term prospects (Eng and Bogaert, 2010).
Fourth, there exist a number of differences in the
socio-economic structure in the metro and the non-metro
cities in India, which should provide interesting insights into
luxury buying decisions and consumption (Vij, 2012).
The present exploratory study has four objectives. First, it
investigates the meaning of “luxury” and luxury brands in a
specific product category, namely, fashion apparel and
accessories. The product category was selected because it has
relatively lower prices and higher frequency of repeat purchase
as compared to other products such as cars. The second
objective is to identify the buying process of luxury brands in
a developing nation context such as India. The third objective
is to explore the antecedents and consequences of luxury
buying behavior and provide an improvement over Ghosh and
Varshney (2013) model. The fourth and the last objective is to
identify the impact of sub-cultures and demographic variables
such as gender and geographic location on luxury buying
behavior.
 Conceptualizing luxury buying behavior Journal of Product & Brand Management
Varsha Jain, Subhadip Roy and Ashok Ranchhod Volume 24 · Number 3 · 2015 · 211–228

4. Methodology Table I Sample demographics

The study adopted a qualitative approach to meet the Demographic variable Subgroups Mean/frequencya
objectives. FGDs were used to obtain insights into the Age 18-23 21.6
research questions, as it was felt that this would enable 24-30 27.7
participants to be open about their thoughts and views. An Monthly income Below USD1000 986
FGD enables the researchers to obtain data that comes from Between USD1000-2000 1,786
cohesive and natural discussions (Malhotra and Das, 2010). Above USD2000 2,579
Moreover, focus groups enable participants to respond and Gender Female 36
address issues within the group (Morgan and Krueger, 1993), Male 36
helping the moderator to understand the coverage and
Domicile Metro 36
diversity of thoughts, perception and opinion of the
Non-metro 36
participants. FGDs also help to facilitate the evaluation and
Socio-economic class A1 18
assessment of the participants in terms of their experiences,
A2 28
feelings and the reasons for purchase that are associated with
their attitudes (Chambers et al., 2008). A3 26
Note: a Mean values are for age and income, rest are frequencies
4.1 Sampling
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A total of eight focus groups were conducted to achieve the

study objectives. Four FGDs were conducted in metro cities,
with two each in the national capital Delhi (in northern India)
and the financial capital Mumbai (in western India). These
two cities are the most populous cities of India (List of most
populous cities in India, 2012). The other four FGDs were
conducted in two non-metro cities in India, namely,
Ahmedabad in western India and Udaipur in northern India
(two in each). The non-metro cities were selected to include
diversity and ensure authenticity of the results. Non-metro
cities do not have as developed luxury markets as metro cities,
but may have the potential to buy luxury goods.
Each focus group had around eight to ten participants to
induce momentum in the discussion (Malhotra and Das,
2010). A total of 72 participants gave their insights in the
FGD. Participants in the age group 18-30 years were selected
for the study because:
● Young individuals aspire more for the luxury brands in
India, as exclusive brand consciousness develops at an
early age.
● Luxury consumption with respect to apparel and
accessories has youth as the prime target audience. Even
though 21-22 years is the age at which an individual in
India starts working, individuals belonging to the upper
sections of the society have purchasing power at a younger
age. Thus, the respondents had a fair mix of young
graduate students and working professionals (sample
demographics is provided in Table I). The participants
were recruited through a professional research agency in all
four cities with clear guidelines on identification and
selection of participants. The screening criteria were
different for metro and non-metro cities; for the metro
cities, the selection of respondents was based on the
purchase of at least one luxury brand in apparel and
accessories in the past one year and for the non-metro
cities, the selection criteria were either purchase of at least
one luxury brand in apparel and accessories in the past one
year or the respondent should belong to Socio-Economic
Class A (SEC A). SECs are defined according to
education and goods possessed by the Indian Marketing
Research Society. The Indian population is divided into
SEC A to SEC E with sub-categories in each segment. The
population in SEC A has characteristics, which make them
prospects for luxury brands. Individuals in all the cities
were asked to confirm their participation, and information
about the venue and time was provided.
4.2 Protocol
The authors developed the protocol on the basis of the review
of the literature related to the perception, attitude and
purchase behavior of consumers toward the luxury fashion
brands. The discussion was divided into three phases. The
first phase was related to a general discussion on perceptions
toward luxury brands. The questions were associated to the
expression of luxury, desires associated with luxury, types of
products considered as luxury, personalities associated with
luxury, sacrifices to buy luxury brands and unpleasant
experience associated with luxury brand purchase (if any).
The second phase focused on the core objectives of the
research. It was related to the expression of luxury fashion
brands, associated attributes, changing views about luxury
fashion brands and its dimensions, reasons to buy luxury
fashion brands, feelings and emotions after using the brands
and bad experiences about luxury fashion brands (if any).
The third phase focused on the future of luxury fashion
brands. The questions were associated to the hurdles and
complexities faced by consumers of luxury fashion brands in
India.
4.3 The FGDs
All the FGDs were conducted in the banquet/conference hall
of a hotel in a central location in each city. The first author
(who had previous experience in conducting FGD) moderated
all the FGDs, and each ran for about 90 minutes. All FGDs
were conducted in English language. This is because English
is a prevalent medium of instruction in schools across India
and is very popular in the metro cities. Thus, the respondents
did not have any problems of expression in English. Moreover,
India being a multi-lingual country, English was a common
medium of communication to an otherwise situation where
different participants had different mother tongues. The group
was allowed to participate freely in the discussions at all points
of time with the moderator intervening when the discussion
was deviating from the objectives. The moderator also
provided the opportunity to the participants to ask questions

214
 Conceptualizing luxury buying behavior
Varsha Jain, Subhadip Roy and Ashok Ranchhod
at the end of the discussion to have a comprehensive
discussion. A small cash payment was given to all the
participants to offset their travel expenses. All eight
discussions were video recorded for better understanding and
analysis. Transcripts were developed from the video recording
where the body language, facial expressions and tone of the
participants were noted along with verbal statements.
4.4 Data verification
Given the exploratory nature of the study, it was necessary to
validate the findings with actual phenomenon in the industry.
Moreover, certain information about the model, such as
challenges and opportunities, were not elicited to its full extent
from the consumers. Thus, one FGD was conducted with
eight industry professionals (of which five were marketing
heads of luxury brands in apparel and accessory brands and
three were chief executive officers of online fashion outlets).
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The objective of the FGD was to identify the challenges and
opportunities in general about the Indian luxury market and to
verify the pragmatic value of the study findings from the
consumer FGDs.
5. Analysis and results
The focus group transcripts were subject to content and
thematic analysis independently by the first and second
authors. This was done to ensure that the coding scheme was
relevant to the study objectives. The authors independently
identified the significant themes and the relevant codes by the
respondents. The themes and the codes identified by both the
authors were compared and analyzed further to arrive at
consensus (inter coder reliability ⫽ 0.89). Disputes still
remaining were resolved after discussion with the third author.
The quotes included in the paper are the major representative
quotes related to the formation of the respective
themes/constructs (supporting quotes are provided in the
Appendix).
The major themes that emerged from the analysis were
meaning of luxury, cultural backdrop, antecedents of luxury
buying, the buying process, luxury consumption and
post-consumption behavior. To further support the manual
analysis, further analysis was conducted using NVivo 6. This
software helped the authors to carry out the text and
paragraphs search that illustrated the perception, attitude and
behavior of the respondents according to the themes and the
codes. Table II summarizes the codes and the emerging
categories and themes from the data. Interestingly, many
differences in all the themes across the metro and non-metro
cities were observed. The following sub-sections provide
snapshots from the detailed findings from each theme
(including the contrasting results). More details have been
presented in the Appendix.
5.1 Meaning of luxury
The preliminary questions were related to the general idea and
meaning of luxury. The product categories associated with
luxury were found to be apparel, accessories, automobiles and
gadgets. When more specific questions were asked about
fashion (apparel and accessories), the products associated with
the same were found to be apparel, watches, bags, shoes, etc.
Interestingly, in all locations, the respondents mentioned
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Journal of Product & Brand Management
Volume 24 · Number 3 · 2015 · 211–228
mobile phone as a fashion accessory and considered it to be a
part of their daily attire. Examples of key luxury fashion
brands mentioned by respondents were Gucci, Louis Vuitton,
Versace, Armani, Diesel, Hugo, Gas, Timberland and
Movado.
There was a considerable difference about the meaning of
luxury between the two metro cities as well as across metro/
non-metro cities. Delhi respondents expressed luxury as
elegance, style and fashion statement, whereas Mumbai
respondents expressed luxury as premium quality, aesthetics
and exclusivity. Respondents from Delhi were more interested
in the show-off value of luxury, as one respondent (Male)
opined:
They (read luxury brands) are popular and not everyone can buy them. So
you have an edge over the rest of the people. In that case you are flaunting
and you have a moral or boost kind of support.
Mumbai respondents were more concerned with identity
creation: “Luxury transforms you. It creates an image and
helps you stand out in a crowd” (Female, Mumbai). In
general, male respondents expressed luxury in relation to their
image in society. They stated that they could not live without
these products and luxury brands, as they have become part of
their life. They involve luxury brands in all the basic activities
of their life. However, female respondents express luxury to be
more aesthetic and classy. In general, respondents perceived
that in the preceding years, consumers focused on price to
signal luxury, but now, they emphasize on quality and
exclusivity. In the non-metro cities, the concept of luxury was
more related to social recognition. This was voiced by both
male and female respondents in both non-metro cities:
[. . .] the point is all about that people listen to you when you own some
luxury brand. I think people end up having that imagination that ok she has
this she has that [. . .] [. . .]. I think people end up listening to those people
who have luxury than to those who really don’t have (Female, Ahmedabad);
or “It reduces our insecurity or uncertainty [. . .] If I am wearing Zara, then
I might feel different than I am wearing Reliance Trends (a discount fashion
superstore) clothes.” (Male, Udaipur). Some major differences between
gender and across cities have been summarized in Table I.
5.2 Cultural backdrop
There was a perceived change toward the way consumption
was viewed by the respondents compared to their
predecessors. One male respondent from Delhi said, “I have
seen my father saving for the future and postponing most of
his consumption needs. It’s not that we were poor but he had
a risk free attitude”, or:
My father used to tell me that if you save now, you would reap the benefits
in the future. Now, I would not like to wait till 60 to wear a pair of Gucci
sunglasses (Female, Mumbai).
This shift of consumption patterns was a key factor in driving
luxury consumption. Liberalization coupled with rising
middle-class income was also one of the socio-cultural factors
affecting luxury consumption. A male respondent from Delhi
felt:
When we were kids, Leo toys were the only pan-Indian toy brand. When
toys like He-Man and G.I Joe entered India, we were awestruck. However,
when I take my kid to the store, there are almost all foreign brands of toys.
The same thing has happened with luxury products. Choice is what has
brought the change.
Respondents felt that consumers are financially sound and
independent, and it has affected the purchase process:
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Table II Data analysis: Codes, categories and themes emerging from analysis
Theme Category
Meaning of luxury Luxury signifier
Luxury products
Luxury and consumers
Cultural background External factors
Internal factors
Antecedents Motivations
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Sample codes
Metro
Elegance, style, fashion statement, quality,
aesthetics, exclusivity, ego
Fashion apparel, wallets, bags, cosmetics,
jewelry, footwear, mobile phones
part of life, basic activity, portray image,
can’t live without
availability, affordability, buying occasion,
choice, liberalization
view towards savings, view towards
consumption, objective of income,
consume now-save later
Self-expression, social display, peer
appreciation, relaxation, self-consumption,
Non-metro
Feel good, exclusive, premium quality at high price,
status symbol, uncommon, beyond functionality,
non-Indian
Fashion apparel, cosmetics, footwear, wallets,
jewelry, mobile phones, watches
Aspiration, compromise, internal fulfillment,
occasional
Relativity, awareness, income levels, purchase time,
social communications
View towards savings, view towards consumption,
time of month, individualism
Uncertainty reduction, active engagement, social
acceptance/approval, impulse

pastime
Associations Friends, market, social class, City of Friends, market, social class, elite groups, mutual
origin, domicile status, celebrity endorsers/ exchange, western celebrities
users, trendsetting
Perceptions Show-off, self-satisfaction, self-giving, Show-off vs self-satisfaction, savings projections,
experimentation, going with trends, uniqueness
uniqueness, basic necessity
Buying process Hurdles Quality, exclusivity, customization, Trade-off, sacrifice, smartness, availability, price
availability, information differential
Evaluation of In-store behavior, background research, a Planning, collective decision, social media,
Alternatives priori knowledge, online forums, sales traditional ads, in store behavior, familiarity,
personnel, discount discounts
Final choice Price not important, perceived quality, Matching apparel with accessories, price is
difference in planned and final choice, important, fake brands
switching, have to buy
Consequences Consumption Sense of achievement, fulfillment, Peer approval, delight, excitement, pampered
indulgence, self- satisfaction, delight,
boast, confidence, feelings
Post-consumption Satisfaction, low loyalty, word of mouth, Short span of satisfaction, low loyalty, upgrade
repeat buying

My parents were convinced that I should complete post-graduation before
looking for a job. However, my niece today is a graduate and is earning
almost the same as me since she is working in an IT company. She still stays
with her parents. So what should she do with all that money? Buy luxury
products! (Female, Delhi).
Moreover, female respondents felt that earlier they used to
buy luxury fashion brands on occasions such as birthday,
anniversary, festivals, etc., but now they purchased luxury
apparels and other accessories without any occasion. This
pattern was emerged, as shopping was considered as a stress
buster. This approach also affected the luxury consumption.
The data from the non-metro cities brought a new and
unique perspective. Several respondents had savings outlook
to purchase luxury brands, which was contradicting the metro
“consume now save later” concept:
I wanted to buy a pair of Timberland shoes, but I knew I could not afford
it at one go. Thus I saved money from my salary for six months and then
purchased it (Male, Ahmedabad).
Relativity was also found to be a major element of discussion
among non-metro respondents. Although the metro
consumers directly opted for luxury brands, the non-metro
consumers were found to graduate from moderate priced
brands to high priced brands:
At one point of time Bata shoes was luxury for me but now I have 3 pairs.
Now I aspire for Woodlands. Once I buy Woodlands for a couple of times
I would target Timberland (Male, Udaipur).
General awareness about luxury brands was also found to be
a societal force behind luxury consumption:
[. . .] because I was not introduced to a better brand than what I am using
right now, I wouldn’t have targeted it. Today, lifestyles are being created by
digital media which created the awareness (Female, Udaipur).
Electronic social media such as Facebook was found to have
an influence on consumption culture of luxury brands.
To summarize, regional culture and the presence of sub-cultures
within a nation were found to affect the perceptions of luxury and
the way consumers behaved with respect to buying luxury. Thus,
the first proposition of the study is framed as:
P1. Culture of a community serves as a major precursor to
luxury buying behavior. More specifically, regional culture
(formed through socio-economic changes) could influence
the motivations, associations and perceptions of luxury.

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5.3 Antecedents of luxury buying: motivations
The major motivation behind luxury purchase and
consumption in metro cities was self-expression. Respondents
mentioned that they want to buy luxury for status, quality,
aesthetics and exclusivity:
We need to buy these brands because we have to look good and as we have
to download pictures on Facebook we need to be particular about the style
as well (Male, Delhi).
However, there were differences in motivation behind
purchase across the cities. In Mumbai, consumers had
hedonic and symbolic association with luxury, but in Delhi, it
was more conspicuous consumption. Moreover, Delhi
respondents purchased luxury for social display: “We buy
these products since we want to receive appreciation and
compliments from friends when we use these brands”
(Female, Delhi). Many respondents mentioned that they
purchased luxury brands for themselves and believed in
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self-gifting concept: “We want to feel the luxury experience to
purchase it” (Male, Delhi). However, respondents in Mumbai
were focusing on creativity and innovation offered by the
brands and wanted to experiment.
Differences in purchase motives also varied across genders.
First, female respondents were found to buy luxury brands to
release stress, and shopping was found to be their favorite pass
time. “We feel very relaxed after purchasing luxury fashion
brands” (Female, Mumbai). Second, females in Delhi buy
these brands to attract the opposite gender. “We buy these
brands so that men could get attracted toward us” (Female,
Delhi). Frequently, the purchases were out of impulse and
peer influence during shopping but primarily for
self-consumption, “We frequently buy these brands for
ourselves and occasionally for our beloved and friends”
(Female, Delhi). However, male respondents were brand
conscious and purchased luxury fashion brands mainly for
occasions such as wedding, formal meeting, weekend parties,
etc. Moreover, they did not have any common motive to
purchase luxury brands but had different opinions about the
various product categories.
Contrasting motives were observed in case of non-metro
cities. In general, the major motive behind luxury
consumption was social acceptance and uncertainty
reduction: “luxury brands give some comfort zone and
removes some kind of uncertainty or insecurity. So it adds
some value to your life” (Male, Ahmedabad); or “If I wear a
Gucci apparel, people would look at me; ask me questions
about the brand. This makes me feel important” (Female,
Udaipur). However, impulse buying was also found to be
prevalent across both non-metro cities, contrary to the
planned purchase behavior in the metro cities.
To summarize, functional and individual value were the
major motivating forces behind luxury consumption in the
metro cities, whereas the same in non-metro cities was social
value. Thus, the second proposition of the study is given as
follows:
P2. Consumer motivations (namely, functional, individual
and social) act as an antecedent of luxury buying
behavior in affecting the alternative evaluation and final
purchase.
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5.4 Antecedents of luxury buying: associations
Social associations play an important role in defining the
purchase behavior of luxury goods. “Our friends know our
taste and preferences so accordingly they recommend the
brands” (Female, Mumbai). Respondents are very vigilant
about the fashion and style trends in the market. Moreover,
when they meet their friends personally, they observe their
apparels and accessories very keenly. Peer pressure was found
to play an important role in luxury purchases:
See, we have to hang out with our friends. If one or two are having a flashy
phone, and I don’t have it, I feel my status has gone down. Thus I also end
up purchasing it even if I had not needed it urgently (Male, Delhi).
Associations of luxury with specific classes of the society were
also observed from the participants. Females from Mumbai
mentioned that there are two types of consumers, emigrants
from the smaller cities and residents of metro cities. “Emigrant
consumers buy luxury for show-off. They want to project their
high standard of living and high income” (Female, Mumbai).
However, Females from Delhi perceived that luxury fashion
brands were for “showing-off” irrespective of the domicile
status: “We buy apparels, accessories, sunglasses, foot wears
etc. for displaying our wealth” (Female, Delhi). Similarly,
males from Delhi firmly believed in lavish and ostentatious
lifestyle. They wanted to buy luxury fashion brands, so that
they can flaunt with them.
In case of non-metro cities, many respondents were found
to perceive/use luxury brands or to get associated with an elite
group: “You have this Harley Owners Group or HOG. This
has something to do with uplifting your social status” (Male,
Udaipur). Non-metro respondents discussed an interesting
view on the mutual exchange of ideas. Many respondents
opined that the luxury brands also benefitted through the
consumption:
It’s like a mutual exchange. If I wear an Armani Suit, my peers come to
know about Armani, they get to know about its exclusivity. So I am
contributing to Armani’s brand image (Male, Ahmedabad).
Celebrity associations with luxury brands were also a driving
force in creating positive associations as per some
respondents. The same mentioned that celebrities helped in
creating a buzz, and the brand could connect easily with the
celebrity. Respondents from Delhi mentioned that celebrities
such as Aamir Khan (actor), Shahrukh Khan (actor) and John
Abraham (actor) are style icons and trendsetters for luxury
fashion. However, at the same time, some respondents felt
celebrities to be more useful for new brands rather than
established products. “Mercedes and BMW do not need a
celebrity but a new brand really have to get associated with
them” (Male, Delhi).
Respondents from Mumbai were not so excited about
celebrities as compared to Delhi. “Celebrities’ endorse many
brands so they are not credible” (Male, Mumbai).
Respondents from Mumbai mentioned that they set their own
trends and fashion statements and were not much influenced
by celebrities.
The non-metro respondents were against Indian celebrity
endorsers for luxury brands, as they felt that endorsers did not
have uniqueness: “[. . .] Amitabh Bachchan (actor) endorses
Reid and Taylor but also endorses Chavanprash[1], so it
doesn’t make sense” (Male, Udaipur). However, some were
more open toward Western celebrities with unique brand
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endorsements: “I am influenced by Victoria Beckham. She
portrays luxury and so I can easily associate her with Victoria’s
Secret” (Female, Ahmedabad).
To summarize, we found tangible and intangible luxury
associations to generate from the self, peers and exemplars.
Thus, the third proposition of the study is presented as
follows:
P3. Tangible and intangible associations formed internally
(self) as well as externally (peers and exemplars) act as
antecedents of luxury buying behavior and influence
alternative evaluation and final purchase.
Ahmedabad). However, there was a counter opinion: “[. . .]
even if you don’t want to, most of the luxury items by nature
you ultimately lead to show-off, even if you don’t intend to”
(Female, Ahmedabad).
To summarize, the two major perceptions that emerged as
the antecedent of luxury buying were experiential and
symbolic value perceptions. Hence, the fourth proposition of
the study is given as follows:
P4. Experiential and symbolic perceptions would influence
alternative evaluations and final purchase decision of
luxury products.

5.5 Antecedents of luxury buying: perceptions 5.6 Moderator: gender

A range of perceptions governed the buying behavior of luxury
brands in fashion. Male respondents from Mumbai felt that
luxury brands purchase motives had moved from show-off to
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Many differences were observed between male and female
respondents on the ways in which the motivations and
perceptions led to buying behavior of luxury products (refer to
Table III). Many male respondents mentioned that they shop

self-satisfaction. “We have moved from first level of luxury to

second level” (Male, Mumbai). This change was more visible
in Mumbai rather than Delhi.
“We buy luxury to indulge in it, for ourselves, which appeals
to our senses, to pamper ourselves and would like to gift it to
ourselves” (Male, Mumbai). There were differences in the
perception of Mumbai and Delhi male respondents. Males
from Delhi focused on the style and fashion trends: “We
purchase apparels and associated accessories according to the
style and fashion trend” (Male, Delhi). Females also opined
about the exclusivity brought about by luxury brands: “We
look for the designer Sari and not a normal Sari which will
make us unique” (Female, Mumbai). Some respondents from
Mumbai stated that consumption of luxury was more of a
basic necessity.
Contrastingly, there was a divide between showing-off ”and
“self-satisfaction” among non-metro respondents. There were
respondents who strongly raised their voice against
“showing-off” as an association of luxury consumption: “If
you wear luxury apparel for an occasion, it’s not showing-off at
all because everyone is there with a purpose” (Male,
alone, and several respondents had a priori information about
the brand and the specifications. Their shopping time was less,
as they were more focused. Male respondents also found
limited choices in apparels and accessories compared to
females. Therefore, they selected their brand from the limited
offers and, thus, spent less time choosing. Male respondents
also said that given a choice, they would never go with their
girlfriends, as they were very finicky and consumed more time
in shopping:
Is it worth going through all items in the store if you have already made a
choice? It happens every time when I go for shopping with my girlfriend.
Something I cannot avoid, but I would love to, given a choice (Male, Delhi).
However, female consumers involved themselves in
exploratory shopping, as they wanted to investigate many
brands, colors and designs while making a purchase decision.
Furthermore, female consumers did not prefer to go with
males, as they felt they were more independent and would like
to decide their own brands. “Shopping alone is a sign of
independence and I do not like male interference in shopping”
(Female, Mumbai). Females from Mumbai mentioned that

Table III Differences in luxury perceptions across cities and gender

Location
Metro
Gender Study variable Delhi Mumbai Non-metro
Male Luxury descriptor Elegance, style, expensive Quality, exclusivity Feel good, aspirations, uncommon,
social status
Luxury and consumer Show off, flaunt Part of life, identity creation Being a somebody
Motivations Conspicuous consumption, occasion Hedonic and symbolic Uncertainty reduction, social
specific acceptance
Buying Alone, preplanned Alone, preplanned Depends on product
Post-purchase Achievement Achievement Pride
feelings
Female Luxury descriptor Elegance, style, fashion statement Aesthetics, exclusivity Exclusive, quality, differentiator
Luxury and consumer Social influence, show off Stand out, stress buster Recognition
Motivations Attract opposite gender Shopping pleasure Uncertainty reduction, social
acceptance
Buying In group, unplanned, time In group, unplanned, time In groups, but also with spouse
consuming consuming
Post-purchase Joy of pamper, delight Joy of pamper, delight Comfort, confidence
feelings

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males are very brand conscious and have a similar buying
pattern. “It is so boring- as males buy the same brand every
time. They cannot differentiate among the various styles and
designs” (Female, Mumbai). Moreover, females from Delhi
feel that males are very impatient and do not have sense about
the fashion and style, and therefore, it is very difficult to shop
with them.
In case of non-metro residents, both male and female
respondents were mostly found to practice shopping in groups
or with spouse. The male respondents opined that the choice
of shopping alone or in a group would depend on the product:
If I have to buy a shoe or a wallet, mostly I would go alone. But if have to
choose a suit, then definitely I would take my wife or a friend (Male,
Udaipur).
Female respondents mostly went out in groups, but the choice
of company depended on the product:
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P5A. Female consumers would be more motivated to explore
and, thus, spend more time in alternative evaluation
and final choice than male consumers.
P5B. Female consumers would have different associations
and perceptions than males and, thus, spend more time
in alternative evaluation and final choice than male
consumers.
5.7 The buying process
The buying process was divided into three sub-categories
based on the analysis. The first category consists of the
perceived hurdles faced while buying luxury fashion brands in
India. The second category is related to the evaluation of
alternatives during purchase. The last category is related to the
actual purchase.
5.7.1 Hurdles
The major hurdles mentioned by the metro respondents for
luxury fashion brands in India were maintaining premium
quality, exclusivity of brands, innovation and customization of
the brands according the consumer’s needs. Many
respondents mentioned that the mushrooming of
conventional and specialty malls in India provided
opportunity for luxury fashion brands to excel: “Earlier I used
to go Singapore for shopping but now as everything is
available in India I buy it from here” (Male, Mumbai).
Majority of the respondents agreed using the Internet,
particularly Facebook and Twitter, to search for information
pertaining to the luxury brands and then discuss the same with
their peers. There were differences between male and female
respondents even in this category. Females from Mumbai
carried out a trend analysis before making a purchase, whereas
men mainly went to the stores with limited information and
details about the products.
Interestingly, almost all the non-metro respondents opined
that they faced financial and non-financial hurdles while
planning the purchase of a luxury brand. The major issue was
the trade-off that they had to make to afford a luxury brand:
I wanted to gift someone a tablet. So I saved for 3 months. Then I bought
it. Likewise, on many occasions I had to sacrifice on my basic needs to save
money for similar purchases (Male, Udaipur).
Inexperience or smartness was also cited by some respondents
which prevented from entering a luxury brand store:
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For tier 2 cities like Udaipur, even if you can afford, there is a mental gap
between liking and going to the store. If you are a first time buyer of a luxury
brand it actually takes a lot of effort to make the decision of going into that
store and then behaving like [. . .]. “I buy this all the time” [. . .]. Because
you don’t want the salesperson to know that you are a first timer. This makes
you even more conscious (Female, Ahmedabad).
Moreover, respondents pointed out the price differential of
similar brands in Western countries and India: “I have found
many watch brands are overpriced in India than in USA. The
same brands are cheaper in USA even after using the exchange
rates” (Male Ahmedabad). Availability of major labels was
also a common hurdle discussed by the respondents in both
the cities.
5.7.2 Evaluation of alternatives
Evaluation of alternatives was related to the in-store behavior
of the consumers and had internal and external factors
governing the choice/evaluation. The rigor of the evaluation
was found to vary with the kind of product category under
consideration. A female respondent from Mumbai explained,
“For handbag we consider 3-4 brands with style and aesthetic
appeal and for jeans we consider 2-3 brands that are more
conformable and stylish”. Many other respondents raised
similar thoughts irrespective of the city where the research was
carried out. The consumers, who went with a priori
knowledge, however, were found to have lesser search time:
“We have an idea about the luxury brands before we
purchase” (Male, Mumbai). Respondents believed in forums
such as Facebook and at the same time perceived their friends
to be reliable and credible source of information.
Respondents mentioned that they would prefer to get help
from the sales personnel to identify a particular color, size or
pattern. Respondents firmly believed that sales persons should
not be aggressive and should give their suggestions only when
required. Interestingly, in high-end luxury brands, discounts
were viewed as a bonus. Interestingly, consumers also felt that
they would purchase the fashion luxury brands if they needed
it, irrespective of a discount: “Discount does not affect the
purchase but it makes us happy” (Male, Mumbai).
In this case, the similarities were more for the non-metro
consumers, as they also believed in planning, held in-store
behavior of salesperson to be important and relied heavily on
social media and online sources for knowledge. However,
discounts were valued more than metro consumers:
“Sometimes you select something at the store, and the same
thing is available online at a discounted price. You don’t mind
saving that USD 6-8 [. . .] [. . .]” (Female, Ahmedabad).
5.7.3 Final choice
Price was not an important factor governing the final choice/
purchase for the metro respondents. “We are ready to pay
more for the premium quality” (Female, Mumbai). Moreover,
male respondents were also ready to pay more for the high
quality of product. “We pay higher for the premium quality of
products as it is an investment” (Male, Mumbai). However, it
was the perceived quality, which influenced the final choice
according to a male respondent from Mumbai:
It is not the actual quality that matters. What matters is whether I feel good
about it. If I feel that this product is right for me, I don’t mind paying
whatever the price is.
The final choice could drift away from the planned choice.
This was more evident for the female respondents: “The
 Conceptualizing luxury buying behavior
Varsha Jain, Subhadip Roy and Ashok Ranchhod
purchase is more through window shopping as we plan for one
and end up buying three brands particularly in apparels and
accessories. But we always buy known brands” (Female,
Delhi). Many respondents also mentioned that it was a rare
occurrence for them to return from the store without buying
anything:
I may go to the store to buy a particular perfume of D&G and the salesman
tells me that it is out of stock. However, I would never like to return empty
handed. I would search for something at similar level of stature and price
band and buy it (Female, Mumbai).
Interestingly, many non-metro respondents were willing to (or
had previously) purchase fake brands or copy of popular
brands: “If I can’t afford Armani, I would go for a fake
Armani” (Male, Udaipur). Respondents were willing to play
on the information asymmetry of the viewer: “Even if I carry
a fake YSL, people would identify the logo and think it to be
original” (Female, Ahmedabad). However, the desire to buy a
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fake or counterfeit product was not elicited from any metro
cities consumers. Thus, the price was being a very important
driver of luxury fashion purchase. Some respondents also felt
that proper consumption is a package of apparel and
accessories working together simultaneously: “When you are
wearing a Tommy Hilfiger shirt and you have a pen worth 10
cents then it’s really bad” (Female, Udaipur).
To summarize the buying process, there would be three
major constructs. The first would be external and internal
hurdles that would influence consumer openness and the
evaluation of alternatives. The second would be the evaluation
stage where the consumers would use different choice
heuristics to create a choice set. This would finally lead to the
purchase decision. Thus, the next set of propositions is framed
as follows:
P6. Geographic location (including regional demographics)
has a moderating role on the relationship between
antecedents of luxury buying and luxury buying
behavior. More specifically, consumers in metro cities
would have an easier transference between motivations,
association and perceptions leading to alternative
evaluation and purchase decision.
P7. The buying process consists of three phases: Perceived
hurdles, alternative evaluation and actual purchase.
P7A. Perceived hurdles would influence alternative
evaluations irrespective of gender and demographics.
5.8 Consumption
The most important code that emerged in the consumption
theme for the metro cities respondents was a sense of
achievement. Many respondents felt a sense of achievement
once they made the purchase. The same feeling exaggerated
while consuming the product: “It makes me feel at the top of
the world” (Female, Mumbai). However, the other thoughts
and feelings were similar across all cities. Respondents
mentioned that they want to experience luxury brands while
purchasing and even after purchase: “We feel good when we
are praised and we always look for appreciation” (Female,
Delhi). The respondents stated integration of feelings during
consumption, which was primarily related to indulgence,
self-satisfaction, delight, confidence and boasting: “We are on
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cloud 9 after purchasing the brands and our stress level
reduces dramatically” (Female, Mumbai). Moreover, some
respondents felt themselves to be unique and exclusive at the
consumption stage: “I feel like a princess after using these
brands” (Female, Delhi):
P8. The purchase of luxury leads to a sense of satisfaction
and achievement in the consumers.
5.9 Post-consumption thoughts/behavior
Surprisingly, one of the most important post-consumption
thoughts which were elicited by the respondents was of low
loyalty, in spite of satisfaction in both metro and non-metro
locations: “I feel satisfied after consuming or using a Giordano
watch. However, that does not mean I would end up buying
the same brand in the next purchase situation” (Male,
Mumbai). Obsolescence was also an important dimension
mentioned by the respondents. “I may buy a watch which
could be used for maybe five years. But I won’t wear it for
more than a year else I would be considered backdated”
(Female, Mumbai). However, the respondents agreed to have
spread good word-of-mouth if they were satisfied with the
product brand. Stepwise upgrade from high to higher end
brands was found to be a common phenomenon only in the
non-metro cities:
If you are using the same thing you did 1 year back, then it’s no longer
luxury. See how phone have been upgrading: iPhone, iPhone 3, iPhone 4,
iPhone 5. Now iPhone 4 is not a luxury, we want version 5 (Male,
Ahmedabad).
P9. Post-consumption behavior would include positive
word-of-mouth, but not necessarily loyalty.
5.10 Practitioner FGD findings
The summary of the findings from the consumer FGDs were
used as the basis for the practitioner FGD. The practitioners
supported most findings from the consumer FGDs, although
some of the findings were revelations for them. The major
focus of the discussion was on the challenges and
opportunities for luxury branding in India. Many respondents
mentioned that a cultural shift in consumption patterns was
taking place at the six metro cities in India, where conspicuous
consumption was becoming a common feature among affluent
youth. However, they cited economic and infrastructural
issues as the hurdle behind the growth of luxury branding in
metro cities. One respondent said, “The INR-USD exchange
rate has been flip-flopping for quite some time. It’s not
possible for us to control prices of the final product for the
same reason”, whereas another explained:
The rate of growth of mall and superstores is much less in India than in
developed nations. This is true even for most metro cities. Thus it’s natural
that availability would be affected.
Moreover, many participants were unanimous about the low
and seasonal demand for luxury products in smaller cities, and
thus, they were wary about setting up the stores:
Let’s take Udaipur. I know that if I set up an Armani store, I would not be
able to sell throughout the year. The demand is not close to that of Delhi or
Mumbai. Thus right now I would refrain.
However, on the brighter side, the rising income of the Indian
population was observed as a welcome note for most
participants as one said:
 Conceptualizing luxury buying behavior
Varsha Jain, Subhadip Roy and Ashok Ranchhod
In 1995 how many graduates could earn a salary above USD 1,500 a
month? Even considering the inflation, whatever todays educated youth are
earning could not have been imagined ten years back. This has led to
conspicuous consumption. And we are happy.
The information technology revolution in India has helped
many consumers to visit abroad, again a dream in the 1990s
for majority of India. “This has increased the level of
awareness of the Indian youth about the luxury brands. Thus
they are more open to pay for high end brands now”,
according to one participant. Participants were also
unanimous on the influence of social media as a stimulus for
the growth of luxury brands in India.
5.11 The buying behavior model
An action diagram of the propositions is presented in Figure 1.
The diagram serves as a conceptual model of the buying
scheme of Indian consumers derived from the study findings.
The model is built in way that it is amenable to further
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quantitative analysis. Using Keegan et al.’s (1992) S-O-R
model, the propositions were segregated into three groups. P1
belongs to stimulus, P2 to P5 belongs to organism and P6 to
P9 belongs to response. The challenges and opportunities
have been included as an influencer to the entire model.
However, we have not constructed propositions for the same,
as the unit of analysis may be more macro in nature.
The overarching influencers of luxury buying in India are
the major macroeconomic forces such as rising income and
technology enabled awareness that has increased the
availability of luxury products and brands. However, the
regional culture acts as the starting point of luxury buying in
India and acts as a stimulus for luxury consumption. At a
micro-level, the consumer could be considered as an organism
that passes through various psychosocial processes that
include internal and external motivation factors, luxury
associations and perceptions. These factors act as the
antecedents of luxury buying. Added to it, consumer gender
and geographical location serve as moderators to influence the
Figure 1 The conceptual model
Challenges (C) and Opportunities (O)
C: Macroeconomic Forces, Infrastructure, Demand
O: Rising income, Awareness, Influence of Media
P5
Gender
P1
Motivations
P2
REGIONAL CULTURE
Associations
P3
Perceptions
P4
Location
Stimulus Organism
P6
Journal of Product & Brand Management
Volume 24 · Number 3 · 2015 · 211–228
strength of relations between the antecedents and the buying
process. The buying process could be considered as the
response of the consumer (organism), and the same could be
divided into five components. The perceived hurdles to luxury
buying have an influence on the alternative evaluation and the
final choice even though the antecedents may not directly
cause it. The antecedents (organism) influence the evaluation
of possible alternatives and final choice, and the latter, in turn,
influence the consumption affects. The post-purchase
response behavior includes behavioral aspects such as
consumption and sensory aspects such as feelings and
thoughts. The process culminates in the post-consumption
thoughts/feelings that may include word-of-mouth and loyalty
attitude.
6. Discussions
The major contribution of the present study is the creation of
a comprehensive framework of luxury buying behavior within
a fast growing developing nation, namely, India. The present
study incorporates consumer perspectives from different parts
of the country as well as across genders. To verify and validate
the findings, the authors included practitioners’ perspective
on the macro-level influencers of the buying model that makes
the present model more advanced than Ghosh and Varshney’s
(2003) framework in two ways. The present study adds to the
literature on luxury buying behavior on two grounds. First, it
includes more constructs and provided details about the
buying process rather than investigating a part of the buying
process (Amatulli and Guido, 2011; Brun and Castelli, 2013).
Second, being grounded in empirical data, the findings
allowed us to compare the Indian consumers’ luxury buying
behavior and the Western buying behavior models (based on
the existing literature). We present the discussion in two parts.
The first part presents the general discussion of the luxury
buying behavior model, and the second part compares and
P7
The Buying Process
Hurdles
P8
Consumption
P7A
Evaluation of Alternatives
P9
Post Consumption
Thoughts/Behavior
Final Choice
Response
221
 Conceptualizing luxury buying behavior
Varsha Jain, Subhadip Roy and Ashok Ranchhod
contrasts the buying behavior of the Indian luxury consumers
with the Western counterparts.
The first part of the model was the cultural backdrop as an
antecedent to augment the model and support prior research
on similar lines (Hung et al., 2011). The findings suggest a
host of external and internal cultural factors behind the rise of
luxury consumption in India. The increasing heterogeneity
among consumers on what constitutes “luxury” supports
earlier views on luxury having different meaning for various
individuals (Atwal and Khan, 2008). This is ably supported by
the increase in availability of luxury labels in metro and big
cities (Kapoor, 2010). The attitude of non-metro consumers
on upgrading to expensive brands supports the ever-evolving
nature of luxury products (Danziger, 2011). The internal
factors included a psychological shift from savings to
consumption orientation, which is a relatively new
phenomenon in India, but has been prevalent in the West.
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The major motivations behind luxury consumption were
found to be self-expression and social display in metro cities.
The concept of conspicuous consumption was present in
certain consumer groups (Delhi), whereas certain groups
exhibited the concept of self-expression (Mumbai). Many
respondents from the metro cities exemplified Dumoulin’s
(2007) concept of contemporary luxury consumption as “a
celebration of personal creativity, expressiveness, and
intelligence”. However, the concept of social emulation
(Corneo and Jeanne, 1997; Trigg, 2001; Dholakia and
Talukdar, 2004) to elevate to higher status was more prevalent
in smaller cities. Aspirations were found to be a strong
antecedent of luxury buying (Dholakia and Talukdar, 2004;
Truong, et al., 2010) and could be related to the reason
behind the influence of foreign celebrities instead of national
for the non-metro consumers.
The study findings suggested a three-step buying process:
1 perceived hurdles;
2 evaluation of alternatives; and
3 the final purchase.
The consumers (especially in non-metro cities) were found to
face several hurdles such as availability and communicability
while shopping. This is a novel finding and may be unique to
India where a diversity of language and cultures create several
barriers. Consumers in metro cities were found to have a good
knowledge of luxury brands before making the purchase.
Nonetheless, the influence of their peers, companion and store
manager was high when the consumer made the actual
purchase. This supports the literature on the role of reference
group on purchase decisions (Bearden and Etzel, 1982). It
was also found that planned purchases might not always work
for the consumers. This is in agreement with the previous
literature that cites that store ambience and engagement with
the store manager could lead to impulse purchase via enriched
shopping experience (Jain and Patel, 2013). Interestingly,
price was not considered to be an important determinant for
final purchase in the metro cities, whereas it was considered
relevant in the non-metro cities, and discounts were
considered to be equally important. This is in contradiction
with traditional luxury branding literature, which suggests that
consumers are willing to pay a higher price to acquire a luxury
product (Mandhachitara and Lockshin, 2004; Moore and
Birtwistle, 2005). The phenomenon of selecting fake or
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Volume 24 · Number 3 · 2015 · 211–228
counterfeits in the Indian context could be related to the
perception of acquiring prestige without paying a high amount
(Bloch et al., 1993; Albers-Miller, 1999; Harvey and Walls,
2003). It would also be associated with social conformity
(Jiang and Kova, 2012), as the consumers would not like to be
“left behind”. This phenomenon could be harmful for the
actual brand if a significant amount of consumers behave in
similar manner. Finally, the behavior of a gradual upgrade of
brand choice, moving from less to more expensive brands
supports the evolving nature of aspirations (Chang and Arkin,
2002; Truong et al., 2010).
It was also identified that the Indian luxury consumers were
ready for the new experiments as they explore innovative
features and brands and were portraying various elements of
post-modern consumers (Atwal and Khan, 2008; Atwal and
Williams, 2008) or Dumoulin’s (2007) contemporary luxury
consumers. They gave importance to creativity and innovation
in luxury brands (Atwal and Khan, 2008). Moreover, the data
analysis was full of words such as “myself, self-expression,
self-consumption, fulfillment, exclusive, unique, ego”, which
suggested that there might be a shift of the Indian luxury
consumers collectivism to individualism, as they focused more
on self-indulgence and self-experimental attributes while
buying the luxury brands. This trend has support in the
literature (Dasgupta, 2009) that had pointed out the need to
further understand the “self-concept construct behind luxury
consumption behavior” in India. Thus, our findings
emphasize that the self-concept for the Indian consumers is
slowly moving from the social-self to the individual.
Additionally, gender and location were found to be important
moderators of luxury buying process. The study found males
to be brand and style conscious, price sensitive and fast in
decision-making, whereas females to be more focused
on aesthetics, design and style of the products and slow in
shopping (Jain et al., 2012). Geodemographics or the location
where the consumer belongs was also found to be an
important moderator of the buying process. Many consumers
in metro cities perceived that luxury buying behavior had
shifted from the ostentatious approach to affordable and
democratization (Yeoman, 2011) because it was perceived as
a part of life. In non-metro cities, luxury was still associated
with the elite class (Table IV). These (and the others
mentioned in the Results section) differences contribute to a
novel finding because previous research has not focused on
intra-country differences in luxury buying behavior. The
consumers were not found to elicit behavioral loyalty and
had switching tendencies in successive purchase cycles.
However, they were found to have attitudinal loyalty
because they were willing to spread positive word-of-
mouth. The inference challenges the well-established
satisfaction–loyalty relationship, as the novelty effect is
highly associated with luxury brands.
Several contrasting patterns from the findings indicate the
differences between luxury consumption in West and India.
First, there was a significant intra-country contrast in the
perceptions of luxury contrary to national level common
understanding of luxury in Western countries (Godey et al.,
2013). Although the non-metro residents had similar word
associations with luxury (such as exclusive, prestige,
aspirations) as their Western counterparts (Godey et al.,
 Conceptualizing luxury buying behavior
Varsha Jain, Subhadip Roy and Ashok Ranchhod
Table IV Research design
No. of No. of Participant details
FGD City type City name participants (age, gender ratio)
2 Metro Delhi 18 18 to 30, 1:1
2 Metro Mumbai 18 18 to 30. 1:1
2 Non-metro Ahmedabad 20 18 to 30, 1:1
2 Non-metro Udaipur 16 18 to 30, 1:1
2013), the metro city consumers considered luxury as a style
statement but also as a way of life. Thus, the metro city
consumers did not pay a great emphasis on the uniqueness of
the products but rather paid more emphasis on the
role of the same in their life. This was in contrast with the
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notion of luxury being anything other than “necessary”
(Heine, 2012). Second, the concept of financial value
(Hennigs et al., 2012) was absent from the antecedents that
drove consumers luxury value perceptions. Hennigs et al.
(2012) found the financial value perceptions significantly high
for countries such as France and Italy. This may not be easily
ascertained through a survey. To add to this, there were
intra-country contrasts even on the value perceptions.
Although the metro city consumers were majorly concerned
about functional and individual value, the same in non-metro
cities was social value. This phenomenon may be attributed to
the fact that India was liberalized in the early 1990s and the
consumers did not get to experience the generic growth of
brands (basic to premium to luxury) as it has happened in the
West. This fuelled by a sharp rise in the disposable income of
the upper sections of the society led to “democratization” of
luxury in the metro cities. Thus, the metro city consumers
were more close to the democrats of luxury consumption,
whereas the non-metro consumers were closer to the elitists
(Dubois et al., 2001). Third and last, the “perceived hurdles”
to luxury buying are a new construct and, most likely, would
be applicable only to developing nations. Although the
concept of luxury may not have any language associations in
the Western world, in countries such as India, English
language was found to have an association with luxury buying.
Thus, the Indian consumers (who do not English as their
mother tongue) faced hurdles while communicating with store
representatives and had a sense of shyness while buying. The
reason maybe being able to speak English in India indicates
upward mobility. Second, the economic and demographic
diversity of India where majority of wealth was restricted in the
major metro cities has fostered availability of luxury brands
only in the metro cities, and thus, even though purchasing
power may be present in the smaller cities, the brands may not
be available. Thus, our findings ask for a detailed
understanding of the national culture and its sub-groups
rather than countrywide generalizations (Hennigs et al., 2012;
Godey et al., 2013) to arrive at luxury consumption inferences.
To summarize, the study findings allowed us develop a model
of antecedents and consequences of luxury buying from the
consumers’ perspective. Thus, the present study has expanded
on the suggestions of Miller and Mills (2012) to create a
framework of luxury buying behavior based on the consumer
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Volume 24 · Number 3 · 2015 · 211–228
Reason for city
selection Participation selection criteria
National capital Have purchased at least one luxury brand
Financial capital (apparel and accessories) in the last one
year
Fast growing non metro Either purchased at least one luxury
Slow growing non brand (apparel and accessories) in the
metro last one year or belong to Socio
economic class A
attitudes, motivations and perceptions. The major finding of the
study was that the Indian consumers were not unanimous on
their definition of luxury. Moreover, there were differences across
gender as well as the nature of the city (metro/non-metro). The
present study supported the notion of luxury being subjective
and difficult to define in a single statement (Eng and Bogaert,
2010; Brun and Castelli, 2013). Based on the findings, we could
infer that it would be better to explore what luxury means for
consumer groups rather than having a macro-perspective (Atwal
and Williams, 2009; Fionda and Moore, 2009).
7. Managerial implications
In essence, the present study acts as a complement to Fionda and
Moore’s (2009) study on luxury brands from the seller’s
perspective. As the present study is also supported partly by data
from industry practitioners, the managerial implications become
more relevant. To begin with, the Indian luxury market has a
many opportunities for the rising middle-class income, which has
enabled the consumers to afford luxury brands (Chadha and
Husband, 2007). The media proliferation and increasing use of
electronic social media such as Facebook and Twitter has created
awareness among the consumers about the luxury brands and
their uniqueness. However, there are still hurdles such as broader
macroeconomic forces outside the control of the marketer and
infrastructural drawbacks. The lack of demand in smaller cities as
cited by many practitioners could pave the way for online
marketing that ensures quality, delivers on time and has buyback
facilities.
The major findings from the consumers’ side suggest that
there is no “one-size-fits-all strategy” for a luxury brand in
India. A marketer has to take into account the cultural
backdrop, gender and location of the consumers before taking
a decision on the product and communication. Thus, the
same marketer operating in a metro and a non-metro city can
opt for different communication strategies to attract
customers. The advertisements at the non-metro level can be
more oriented toward raising awareness. Moreover, there was
a need to understand the consumer motives, which could
guide the marketer to establish strategies to woo and convert
prospects into buyers. In this regard, the marketers operating
at non-metro or smaller cities could respect the local language
and could have a conducive in store atmosphere (includes
salesperson) that does not make the buyer feel uneasy. The
differences between male and female consumers suggest that
different strategies has to employed for male and female
respondents to get better results even in the same product
category. There were two very important issues that need to be
 Conceptualizing luxury buying behavior
Varsha Jain, Subhadip Roy and Ashok Ranchhod
addressed: counterfeit brands and low loyalty. The problem
with counterfeit brand in the present study is even more
challenging for the marketer because the buyer knows that the
product is a fake before buying. The present study included
consumers with purchasing power to buy luxury brands unlike
the case of Jiang and Kova (2012) who included only
price-conscious consumers. Thus, the challenge for the Indian
marketer is to convert those counterfeit buyers into actual
brand buyers. Emphasis on quality issues, style and the
possible loss of prestige as a result of owning fakes could deter
individuals from making the wrong choices. Lower loyalty to a
particular brand could be tackled by developing a deep and
wide product mix to retain customers for the long run. This
particular strategy has been suggested by Preiholt and Hogg
(2006), who advocate the development of new products at
regular intervals to improve retention.
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8. Conclusions and scope
One of the major implications of the study suggests that the
term and the concept “luxury brand” maybe ambiguous and
ubiquitous. It could be applied to many products, services and
consumer experiences as a surrogate descriptor for various
qualities. The present study thus calls for more research into
understanding the concept “luxury”. Developing a clear sense
of what the term means is an essential step to develop research
instruments that can measure perceptions and behavior
related to luxury brands and how it has changed with time.
The study has provided a conceptual framework for
researchers to empirically understand luxury buying behavior.
From a practitioner’s viewpoint, this research has high value
because it has provided insights into how consumers in a
developing nation perceive, search and buy luxury products,
which could help in developing different strategies for various
segments of consumer. One of the limitations of the study is the
restriction to fashion and accessories product category. More
areas of luxury consumption should be considered for future
research. To gain further insights, it is proposed that similar
studies are undertaken in more countries that are at a similar
stage of development to India. This would offer deeper
understanding of cross-cultural differences in luxury
consumption patterns. This study has built its propositions on a
qualitative approach. Having built the model, it would make
sense to triangulate the findings by developing a large sampling
framework and using a detailed questionnaire, to provide further
validation.
Therefore, this paper opens the doors for further research in
the area of luxury brand consumption behavior.
Note
1 A traditional Indian health supplement.
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 Conceptualizing luxury buying behavior
Varsha Jain, Subhadip Roy and Ashok Ranchhod
Holt, D.B. (2002), “Why do brands cause trouble? A
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About the authors
Varsha Jain (PhD) is an Assistant Professor in Integrated
Marketing Communication and Chair, Dissertation at the
MICA (India). She has authored 58 publications in
international, national and trade journals, book chapters and
case study collections, including the Journal of Marketing
Communication, Journal of Product and Brand Management,
International Journal of Mobile Marketing, Journal of Consumer
Marketing, Young Consumers, Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
Administration, Middle East Media Educator, Marketing Insights
and Marketing News and Emerald Emerging Markets Case
Studies Collection. She won gold medals as “Young
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Volume 24 · Number 3 · 2015 · 211–228
Outstanding Management Researcher – 2013” and
“Outstanding Woman Management Researcher–2012” by
AIMS (The Association of Indian Management Scholars)
International. She was visiting scholar at The Medill School,
Northwestern University and a visiting professor at the Indian
Institute of Management (IIM), Indore in 2013. Currently,
she is also writing a book on Indian Consumer Behavior in an
Interactive Market Place with Prof Don Schultz
(Northwestern University, USA).
Subhadip Roy is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the
Indian Institute of Management Udaipur, India. Subhadip
holds a PhD in the area of Celebrity Endorsements from
ICFAI University, Dehradun, India, and a Master’s in
Business Management from the University of Calcutta. His
research interests are in brand management, advertising and
market research. He is working in the area of celebrity
endorsements and brand management and has published
research papers in international journals of repute. Subhadip
Roy is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:
subhadip.roy@iimu.ac.in
Ashok Ranchhod is a Reader in Marketing Communications
at the Winchester School of Art and was recently appointed
Emeritus Professor at Southampton Solent University where
he was previously a Research Professor in marketing. Ashok
has published numerous books and articles, and has received
prizes for his papers at the Academy of Marketing and The
British Academy of Management. He has undertaken
consultancy for reputed firms and has written case studies on
several companies for the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
 Conceptualizing luxury buying behavior Journal of Product & Brand Management
Varsha Jain, Subhadip Roy and Ashok Ranchhod Volume 24 · Number 3 · 2015 · 211–228

Appendix

Table AI Additional quotes used to build the constructs and the conceptual model
Construct Supporting quotes Respondent details

Culture “When we were kids, any family member travelling from abroad was requested to bring a Charlie perfume. These days Female Mumbai
every western brand is available in the malls and some even have exclusive outlets. Thus it is not about rarity anymore,
it’s about how you want yourself to be shown”
“[. . .] there is no harm in following brands in Facebook. You don’t have to pay for it. I can get the impulse once Female, Ahmedabad
someone has a post and others are talking about it”
Motivations “We are more excited to know what kind of apparels and accessories are used by our friends” Female, Delhi
“Price is not a big issue for me. Anyway I know I am buying something expensive ” Male, Delhi
“These are the things that can build my image as a ‘somebody’” Male, Udaipur
“When I buy a Rolex, I know I am buying something worth and something that would give me looks and attention” Female, Ahmedabad
Associations “These people do not have sense about the brands and fashion and they end up in a disaster. They do not make Female, Mumbai
strategic decisions in purchasing the brands. They purchase these brands to get associated with the high profile people
and high class society”
“They do not use the brands so they are not reliable and we want to experience the brands ourselves” Female, Mumbai
“These goods are associated with high end lifestyle (as we see in movies). Thus it would get me to that level” Male, Udaipur
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“I would always want to use the perfumes, watches, dress, that my favorite celebrity uses” Female, Udaipur
Perceptions “We believe in self-gift giving concept so we buy luxury fashion brands for ourselves” Male, Mumbai
“I do not buy a luxury brand for showing off. I don’t need to. The brand gives me self-satisfaction” Female, Udaipur
“We buy luxury to indulge in it, to appeal to our senses, to pamper ourselves and to gift ourselves” Male, Mumbai
“I may not say ‘show-off but attract attention, definitely’” Female, Ahmedabad
“There is no point in showing off among my friends, since all of them have similar (high end) products” Female, Delhi
Moderator: gender “If I have to buy cosmetics or a dress, I would mostly go out with my gang (women). But if I have to buy jewelry, then Female, Ahmedabad
my husband goes along”
“If I go for shopping alone, I do not go through many options. Generally I compare two to three brands of the same Male, Delhi
products and select one out of them”
“What’s the joy in viewing just one product and make the final choice? What if I have missed something better? Thus I Female, Delhi
need to spend time to make the final choice”
“I really don’t think much after I have made the purchase. If I keep thinking, I may feel afterwards that I should got Male, Mumbai
something else and have made a wrong choice”
“Have you shopped with a young lady? See the amount of time they waste”. Reply: “Well, to me it’s not a waste of Male, Udaipur; Reply
time. I have my image at stake, why should I haste and rue later? ” (in the same FGD)
Female
Purchase: Hurdles “If your parents are buying it for you, you don’t have to sacrifice anything. But if you are buying it for yourself then Female, Ahmedabad
[. . .] at times you have to trade off something”
“At times it’s uneasy since I am not familiar with the jargons of fashion. They have their own terminology in luxury and Male Udaipur
a buyer is expected to know the same”
Purchase: evaluation “If it is a digital camera or mobile phones then research is extensive but not for the apparels and accessories” Male, Delhi
of alternatives “We want them to behave properly and they should not suggest a brand as we very well know” Male, Mumbai
“After all a discounted price is not going to affect a Versace by making it something else. Moreover, how many people Male, Udaipur
who see me in the sunglass get to know that I got it for a discount? ”
Purchase: final “We pay higher for the premium quality of products as it is an investment” Male, Mumbai
choice “I generally go to the store with a brand in mind, but it happens every now and then that the same stuff may not be Male, Delhi
there. If I come back empty handed, I have to return again which is a waste of time. Thus I search for some time and
get something equivalent and buy it”
“I have seen many of my friends wear a Titan watch while they have a Gucci T Shirt or something like that. I would Male, Ahmedabad
never do that. A match has to be there between my dress and accessories to portray the right image”
“Even if I carry a fake YSL, people would identify the logo and think it to be original” Female, Ahmedabad
Consumption “We buy BMW and Audi to make a mark in the community” Female, Delhi
“I got this D&G perfume on my birthday and I couldn’t stop myself showing it off. Every second person I met that day, I Female, Udaipur
showed it”
“When I keep a cross pen in my pocket it makes me delighted and confident” Male, Mumbai
“I felt like a Maharaja who held the admiration of others” Male, Ahmedabad
“I feel like a princess after using these brands” Female, Delhi
Post-consumption “Even if I am satisfied, I would not buy the same brand twice since it becomes boring”, Female, Delhi
“See, I buy a dress today, I wore it on two occasions where I flaunt it like anything. But then everybody gets to see it Male, Ahmedabad
and its value goes down”

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