Factors impacting purchase intention towards masstige brands: A SEM based analysis of young consumers in India

Masstige brands are mass-produced brands that are the result of a downward brand extension of a superior brand to cater to the needs of an aspirational segment and is positioned as luxurious or prestigious Rodrigues (Int J Consumer Stud, 48:e12869, 2024). The adoption and consumption of luxury have transformed over the years to include the function of prestige, the conspicuous nature of consumption, social status and even personality factors like self-identity Kumar (J Retailing Consumer Serv 58:102318, 2021). Also, the kind of product categories under masstige brands has expanded to include fashion, automobile, watches, and accessories considering the emerging markets growth pattern. Certain buying factors can be correlated to the luxury consumers in the developed nations like purchasing power, brand preference, decision making, etc. but most of the consumers in the emerging markets have showcased different kinds of factors impacting the masstige brands. The research paper will evaluate the emerging youth segment in the Indian scenario to understand their buying patterns towards masstige brands. Most of the luxury brands are developing sub-brands of their superior offering to attract this segment of an admirer of the luxury brand but may not want to spend exorbitantly on them which was the case with their richer counterparts. The objective of the research builds upon the identification of the factors that impact and govern the final decision-making of this segment. The adoption of such Masstige brands needs a more in-depth analysis of the factors affecting the attitude formation and perception creation of the consumers. To understand the luxury adoption factors, SEM analysis would be used for analysing the data collected. Masstige marketing in the future requires a strong foundation to build upon the methods of marketing to the Indian luxury consumers which this paper can contribute meaningfully. The study has important academic and managerial implications for identifying the right segment in the country for masstige brands and also evaluating the factors that govern their buying decision.