Is luxury democratization impactful? Its moderating effect between value perceptions and consumer purchase intentions

Abstract

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Luxury goods, once exclusive to the elite of the society, are now available to a markedly large customer segment, mainly due to the process of democratization. However, academic scrutiny on the influence of democratization on luxury consumption is lacking. This research aims to fill this crucial gap in the extant body of knowledge by offering a unified conceptualization of the construct - democratization of luxury. The study operationalizes this pivotal construct followed by empirical evidence on how democratization has a moderating impact on the relationship between different luxury value perceptions and luxury purchase intentions. This first academic empirical exploration on luxury democratization provides several theoretical advancements and aims to assist luxury brands in developing a coherent long-term positioning strategy to manage this unique challenge.