Determinants and outcomes of luxury fashion “store coolness”

Abstract

Luxury fashion brands follow distinctive strategies to boost the customer experience. Making the store perceived as “cool” is one potential tactic, according to the positioning and main strategy. This thesis aims to determine the main factors that influence the luxury “store coolness”, examine the direct and mediating impact of “coolness” on purchase intention and positive Word-of-Mouth (WOM), and test the moderating role of price consciousness and credibility on the path from “coolness” dimensions to the studied outcomes. Consequently, first, a qualitative pilot study with 16 luxury fashion brand customers was carried out to define the determinants of “store coolness”. Second, a survey-based study (n = 213) was conducted to test the proposed hypotheses. The first study’s findings indicated five main factors that influence the “store coolness”; store atmosphere, service quality of employees, store design, display, and creativity. However, the second study demonstrated that only store creativity influences all studied “coolness” dimensions (extraordinary, high status, subcultural, and iconic), while service quality, store atmosphere and display impact some and not all dimensions. Interestingly, the store design effect was positive on the high status and iconic, but negative on the extraordinary and subcultural dimensions. The results also revealed a mediating effect of “coolness” between some of the antecedents and outcomes and demonstrated the relationships in which price consciousness and credibility play a moderating role. Based on the findings, we discuss the contribution to theory and provide managerial implications on how to make a luxury store perceived as “cool”, but in a profitable way.

Date of Award	5 Jul 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Maher Georges Elmashhara (Supervisor)