Comparing online and in-store shopping behavior towards luxury goods

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the online and in-store shopping behavior towards luxury goods. Design/methodology/approach – Two studies are presented. Study one is qualitative in nature. It uses a mixed method approach and explores why luxury consumers decide to purchase luxury products online or in-store. The second study is a quantitative one. It tests the hypotheses drawn from the first study and validates the qualitative results. Findings – Online and in-store luxury shoppers are influenced by different motivational factors. Online luxury shoppers are price-conscious, prefer the online product availability and have a higher level of trust towards online customer reviews. In-store shoppers who are more averse to online risks find it very important to see the product personally before the purchase and value shopping experience and interactions. In addition, differences exist between the online shopping behaviors of regular and luxury shoppers. Research limitations/implications – It contributes to luxury consumption research and expands shopping motivation literature by investigating luxury buyer behavior in the online context. Practical implications – Luxury retailers should pay attention to the newly emerging segment of online luxury consumers. Lack of trust prevents more luxury consumers from shopping on the internet and the trustworthiness of the sellers can help attract potential shoppers. Luxury retailers can cater to the needs of different types of luxury buyers. Originality/value – This paper is the first exploratory, comparative study on luxury consumption in the online and physical store environments. It investigates the motivational factors that drive the shopping behavior of internet and in-store luxury shoppers.