Does snobbish service generate better sales? The case of luxury goods

Abstract

The objective of this study is to explore whether a “bad” service encounter triggers a consumer's impulse purchase in a luxury goods store in an Asian emerging market. A 2 (service encounter: favorable vs. snobbish) × 2 (shopping companion: alone vs. with a close friend) between‐group factorial design was employed with 160 female consumers in an Asian emerging market to examine the antecedents of both the urge to save social identity and the impulse purchase of luxury goods. The results show that consumers in an Asian emerging market can be triggered to make an impulse purchase of a luxury good, not because they received excellent service in the store but because they encountered snobbish service, especially when shopping with a close friend. Research implications and limitations are also discussed.

Sailing the tide of over consumption: applying a business history approach to explore the rising demand of luxury yachts and travel since 1979

“…In terms of using debt to purchase luxury items, this demonstrates that the ethics, morality and the psychology of consumerism are intrinsically linked, particular in an age where the purchase of luxury goods is intrinsically linked to debt. Indeed, research shows that conventional wisdom concerning cash flow and the need to limit debt is rarely employed by those who borrow to purchase luxury items in an attempt to impress others (Wang et al, 2020 andChiou andHsiao, 2017).…”

Trying on a role: Mentoring, improvisation and social learning in luxury retailing

“…However, although consciously annoyed by such behavior, customers' admiration for the brand and their desire for its social status might outweigh that annoyance (Wang et al, 2013) and reinforce the brand image instead of harming it. While snobbish service may deter customers from entering a store, those who feel that their social identity is challenged may be motivated to prove that they have the wealth and status to purchase the goods and deserve to be there (Chiou & Hsiao, 2017).…”

Construction of Precision Sales Model for Luxury Market Based on Machine Learning

“…How to improve the user's experience in the sales process through apparatus knowledge, so as to bring better business value to luxury brands, and realize value co-creation and sharing, is worthy of in-depth research [10]. e precision sales model in the era of Big Data takes the actual orientation of consumers as the core principle, so as to promote the desired products more accurately for consumers, which is the best way for enterprises to obtain economic profits.…”