Underlying Values of Prestige Seeking and Its Influence on Brand Loyalty in Clothing Consumption

Prestige products, such as apparel, are infrequently purchased and require a higher level of interest and knowledge because they are strongly related to an individual's self-concept. This study was designed to conceptualize prestige seeking behaviors by investigating the underlying motives and its influence on brand loyalty. This study adapts Vigneron and Johnson's (1999) framework as a conceptualization of prestige seeking apparel consumption. A survey questionnaire was developed to measure the five underlying values of prestige consumption and brand loyalty. Data from 554 college students were used for the analysis. Results of confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL indicated that apparel prestige consumption does not consist of five distinctive dimensions. Among five theoretically driven dimensions, prestige consumption due to conspicuous, social and emotional value were highly correlated. Structural equation modeling using LISREL showed that brand loyalty was significantly influenced by prestige consumption due to conspicuous value, hedonic value, and uniqueness value.