Customer Experience and Determinants of Consumer Attitude Toward Luxury Brands: Observations in Japan And China

Abstract

This study extends Kumagai and Nagasawa’s (2015) discussion on consumer attitude toward luxury brands by conducting consumer research in Japan and China. It focuses on eight luxury brands—Ralph Lauren and Armani, Coach and Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Cartier, and Cadillac and Mercedes Benz—in four product categories—apparel, leather goods, jewelry, and automobile, respectively. The determinants of consumer attitude and customer experience are discussed between the two countries and across the four categories. Customer experience is examined using a strategic experiential module (SEM). The multivariate statistics and discussion in this paper provide the following five implications. (1) Chinese consumer perception of luxury brands is generally similar to that of the Japanese. (2) Japanese and Chinese consumers’ attitude toward luxury brands, to some degree, is determined on the basis of three factors: perceived esthetics, perceived orthodoxy, and perceived rarity. The impact of perceived rarity on consumer attitude differs between Japan and China. (3) Perceived esthetics and orthodoxy have positive impacts on consumer brand attitude, but the impact of perceived rarity is not always positive across product categories. (4) The purchase intention regarding consumer luxury brands is directly influenced by perceived esthetics, perceived orthodoxy, and perceived rarity, and indirectly influenced through a consumer’s dreams. (5) Perceived esthetics and orthodoxy are considered proxy variables of SENSE, FEEL, THINK, and ACT in the SEM. Perceived rarity is considered to be related to RELATE, but not a proxy variable of RELATE because both function differently in certain cases. This is a complicated reflection of consumer reference groups, social interactions, and personalities, among other attributes.