Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of brand prominence on willingness to buy luxury brands. It also aims to investigate the direct and moderating roles of luxury brand values, social influence and vanity on willingness to buy luxury brands. Design/methodology/approach – A convenience sampling method was employed. Survey questionnaires were distributed by mall intercept to quasi-random samples in downtown Perth, Western Australia for completion and return. The return yielded 779 usable questionnaires, the data from which were analysed using SPSS 22. Findings – The findings support the influence of brand prominence on purchase intention for luxury brands. It has also been found that social influence has a significant influence on physical vanity and willingness to buy luxury brands. However, some relationships with and isolations from the earlier studies have been identified. Practical implications – This study provides some meaningful insights for marketing managers regarding brands prominence that they can use in better understanding the consumers’ intention to buy luxury products. A luxury goods manufacturer may want to be cautious to not over popularize its trademark for short-term gains. There must be a delicate balance between the uses of prominent and subtle signals in luxury branding in order to maintain value as a prestigious label. Originality/value – Previous studies have mainly focused on the antecedents of willingness to buy luxury brands, whereas this paper incorporates the construct of brand prominence, adding new insights into the construct.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the existence of consumers’ need for uniqueness (CNFU) and status consumption (SC) in Generation Y (Gen Y). In exploring such, the equivalency of each construct (measurement invariance and population heterogeneity) is examined across early and late Gen Y consumers. Design/methodology/approach A self-administered online survey is examined, with the sample of 397 Gen Y respondents analyzed through structural equation modeling. Findings The results reveal that Gen Y consumers experience a need for uniqueness in a three-factor composition which is invariant across earlier and later Gen Y consumers. Similarly, SC is observed amongst Gen Y, with the empirical results again equivalent across the two groups. Finally, SC is supported to directly influence Gen Y’s purchase intention (PI) of luxury fashion goods, with the three CNFU constructs failing to directly influence PI, or SC’s influence on PI. Practical implications Results suggest to practitioners that not only are CNFU and SC motivations existent in Gen Y consumers, but they act similarly across early (19-23) and later (24-34) members of the consumer segment. Additionally, SC positively influences Gen Y’s purchase behavior of luxury fashion goods. Practitioners may target such consumers with reassurance that these groups do not behave differently with respect to CNFU and SC. Originality/value This study explores for the first time the three factors of CNFU and SC amongst Gen Y consumers. Such analysis, including the invariance of responses between those later and earlier born Gen Y consumers, and the structural relationships shared between these constructs and PI of luxury fashion goods offer intriguing insights for academics and practitioners alike.

This paper investigates female shoppers' attitude and purchase intention towards green cosmetics. Underpinned with an extended theory of planned behaviour model, the research framework examines consumers' attitude and purchase intention. In addition, the moderating influence of consumer involvement is tested. Data (n = 408) were collected from South Africa and analysed through structural equation modelling. The results show that subjective norm has a significant positive impact on the consumers' purchase intention for green cosmetics. Also, ecological motive and environmental knowledge impact the consumers' attitude towards green cosmetics. In addition, consumers' involvement strengthens the positive relationship between attitude and purchase intention. However, the role of perceived behavioural control and health consciousness were non-significant. The findings suggest that practitioners should try to enhance the consumers' knowledge and involvement about green cosmetics. They should inform and educate the consumers through an integrated marketing communication approach by means of campaigns, advertisements, and public relations. Thus, through relevant environmental information or knowledge, consumers will be more educated aiming to impact positive attitude and purchase intention.

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