Luxury brands in the digital age: perceived quality and gender difference

ABSTRACT

This study examined gender difference in relation to actual luxury consumers’ perceptions of luxury fashion retail website quality associated with customer satisfaction. The total number of respondents was 287 (male = 104; female = 183). A multi-group comparison was conducted to examine how men and women differ in their perceptions of website quality. The results of the study show that similarities and differences exist between male and female luxury consumers’ perceptions of e-luxury service quality. For male luxury consumers, order and delivery management was the only dimension that impacted e-satisfaction. In relation to female consumers, order and delivery management, customer service, personalization, trust, and entertainment value were critical dimensions that influenced e-satisfaction. In accordance with the selectivity hypothesis, the findings of this study imply that male luxury consumers seem to be goal-oriented and pay attention solely to the information that directly assists their purchase. However, female luxury consumers are likely to engage in comprehensive information processing by evaluating a wide-range of service attributes when purchasing luxury fashion goods online. This study provides practical implications to luxury retailers by identifying key dimensions of e-service quality in the context of luxury retailing websites and by examining how men and women luxury consumers perceive the service dimensions differently.

KEYWORDS:

• Luxury brands
• e-service quality
• e-satisfaction
• gender difference

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jung-Hwan Kim

Dr. Jung-Hwan Kim is an Associate Professor in the Department of Retailing at the University of South Carolina. She completed her doctoral degree at The Ohio State University in 2006. Dr. Kim’s current research interests include digital marketing, cross-cultural consumer behavior, digital retail technology, and service quality. Her research has been published in various peer-reviewed journals such as The Service Industries Journal, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, European Journal of Marketing, Managing Service Quality, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, and Journal of Marketing Management. She is currently an editorial board member for Clothing and Textile Research Journal and Journal of Service Management.