Antecedents of Continuous Purchase Intention of Luxury Brands in India

Abstract

As a concept, luxury has always been divisive and subjected to interpretation. While the social commentators view it as treachery and deception of community values, others view it as indulgence and the antidote to the prosaic. This divergence in perception is why luxury brands are viewed to be complex, multidimensional, and abstract in nature. Although, the luxury brand market segment is one of the most lucrative and the fastest-growing sector due to its high margins, luxury brands are often misunderstood and the existing knowledge about them is mostly fragmented. The luxury sector has been growing and in 2018, the global luxury market was estimated at US$ 1.2 trillion (Bain and Company, 2018). Today, the luxury sector has become more varied and inclusive as it spans a wide range of products and services: cars, wines, art, jewellery, fashion, watches, vacations, spas, and hotels. newlineWith the global luxury sector growing, the Indian luxury market was valued at US$ 30 billion in 2019 (Retail Asia, 2019). The growing appetite of luxury brands in India can be attributed to higher disposable incomes of the middle class, rapid urbanization, increasing number of millionaires, favorable trade policies, increased number of millennials, and widespread social media proliferation (Jain, 2018). The above evidence suggests that the Indian luxury market is thriving, and has a promising future. Despite considerable growth, the international luxury brands are still perplexed by the sheer diversity of the Indian customer, the nuances of the business climate, and the intricacies of Indian culture, which pose a significant challenge for them to enter India. Therefore, it is imperative for industry practitioners and researchers to decipher and unveil the meaning of luxury for the 21st- century Indian consumer. newline