Making sense of heritage luxury brands: consumer perceptions across different age groups

Abstract

Purpose Scholars have repeatedly concluded that heritage is a significant value driver for luxury brands (Riley et al., 2004; Fionda and Moore, 2009; Wuestefeld et al., 2012; DeFanti et al., 2014; Ardelet et al., 2015; Dion and Borraz, 2015; Dion and Mazzalovo, 2016). However, little is known on how consumers of different age group make sense of heritage luxury. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how consumers of different age groups make sense of heritage luxury brands (HLBs). Design/methodology/approach To achieve this, semi-structured, one-on-one, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 21 consumers of HLBs who fell into one of three age groups: Emerging adults (18 to 25 years), middle-aged adults (33 to 40 years) and older adults (67 to 74 years old). Findings The findings of this paper explored the different perceptions of the dimension of heritage in relation to luxury among consumers of different age groups. This paper focuses on the pioneering contributions of Urde, Greyser and Balmer (2007) in defining the dimensions of heritage brands. Although the dimensions of heritage brands defined by Urde et al. (2007) were useful as a starting point, differing perceptions among consumers of different age groups emerged which need to be considered. Findings of this study showed that consumers of all three age groups revealed three characteristics of HLBs. These are timelessness, quality craftsmanship and prestige. The durability and lasting appeal of HLBs was attributed to their high-quality craftsmanship. Quality craftsmanship, recognizability and price contributed to the perceived prestige value of HLBs. It was apparent throughout this study that HLB items helped participants feel connected to others, including their mothers or more remote forebears, their contemporaries and their descendants. Originality/value The author aims to understand the interplay between heritage and luxury, to understand how luxury brand consumers of different age groups are influenced by the heritage dimension. The relation between luxury and heritage becomes particularly intriguing when we consider how it affects the perceptions of consumers of different age groups.

Heritage luxury brands: insight into consumer motivations across different age groups

“…Drawing on the work of Kapferer and Bastien (2012), they found that the history aspect of a brand is essential for maintaining the symbolic appeal of luxury brands. Others also acknowledged that heritage presents companies with increasing opportunities to relate to customers and support branding initiatives (Dion and Arnould, 2011;Dion and Mazzalovo, 2016;Halwani, 2019).…”

The Online Experience of Luxury Consumers: Insight into Motives and Reservations

“…Qualitative research methods have become increasingly appropriate for examining consumer behaviors. Qualitative research has become popular for examining luxury consumption behaviors (Halwani, 2019;J.-E. Kim, Lloyd, & Cervellon, 2016), As such, an interview-approach allowed respondents to talk freely about their online purchase motives and reservations.…”

Tendencias de investigación en branding enfocadas al adulto mayor: análisis bibliométrico y revisión sistemática de la literatura

“…En el segundo clúster (azul) se identifican tendencias temáticas asociadas con mercados maduros (Guido et al, 2018), estudios demográficos y de marketing (Lambert-Pandraud et al, 2005), comercio electrónico (Zhu et al, 2020), comportamiento del consumidor (Teller & Gittenberger, 2011), compras del adulto mayor (Carpenter et al, 2005), psicología del consumidor (Swimberghe et al, 2018), y envejecimiento del consumidor (Kohijoki, 2011). El tercer clúster (rojo) se identifican temas asociados con los Estados Unidos de América (Cornwell et al, 2008), percepción del consumidor (Wang et al, 2013), el consumidor adulto (Moschis & Burkhalter, 2007;Halwani, 2019), y servicios de apoyo social al adulto mayor (Ho & Shirahada, 2020) como los más representativos.…”