Do second-hand luxury retailers affect luxury brand image? Exploring the mediation of construal level theory between official and unofficial retailers

This paper investigates whether purchasing a second-hand luxury product via either an official or an unofficial retailer direct affects luxury brand image. This connection may be shaped by the activation of different levels of psychological construal (high vs. low) at the consumer level that mediate the consumer-brand relationship. Two online experiments were employed to observe the cause-effect connection and to assess whether the contextual conditions (i.e., retailer types) play a pivotal role in luxury brand image, especially when second-hand purchases are gaining popularity. The findings revealed that when consumers purchased second-hand luxury items from unofficial retailers, their perception of luxury brand image fell due to activation of a lower level of construal. This suggests a psychological focus on the product's tangible elements. The opposite occurred when consumers made second-hand luxury purchases from official retailers. Our paper extends the theoretical understanding of luxury brand image through integrating construal level theory and comparing unofficial and official retailers. Managers should develop an eco-system framework to redistribute second-hand products, carefully select where these products are sold, and adjust emphases on brand attributes to suit the retail context.