The moderating role of brands for low income luxury consumers

Abstract

The value of luxury is a multidimensional construct that assesses how consumers consider the various dimensions of luxury in their consumption relations. The consumption of luxury is not a trivial activity for most people, but brings a certain fascination and is part of the imaginary of the lower classes in emerging markets. The social identity of these consumers is changing because they aspire a new social position. But luxury consumption hurts the standards of this consumer profile. At the same time the self esteem is observed as an important element of people self-confirmation. For consumers, specifically, self-esteem is an important antecedent of consumption decisions. A sample of low income students was analyzed in this study to describe their relationship with luxury, and its influence on self-esteem when moderated by brand expressiveness. Through structural equation modeling this study found that the expression of the brand moderates the relationship of the value of luxury with self-esteem, allowing consumers of lower classes to observe a significant role of luxury in their lives.