Luxury Consumers' E-service Perceptions: Does Income Level Matter?

Abstract

<p>In the past, the term luxury seemed to be exclusively associated with a specific social class, the wealthy. Today, the luxury market does not appear to belong only to the wealthiest social class. Noticeably, more and more lower social classes are interested in possessing luxury goods (Truong, McColl, & Kitchen, 2009). The ongoing democratization phenomenon of luxury reflects this current change in the luxury market. Our study considers the current democratization of luxury products among consumers and service quality online (e-service quality hereafter) executed by luxury retailers. Our research question was how luxury consumer groups based on socioeconomic status differ from the e-service quality perspective. Specifically, this study was designed to examine group differences in terms of which e-service quality dimensions impact e-satisfaction.</p>