Masstige Marketing: Prestige Trumps Quality in Driving Purchase Intent
Category: Innovation & Markets · Effect: Strong effect · Year: 2023
In the masstige market, consumers prioritize perceived prestige value over tangible product quality when forming purchase intentions.
Design Takeaway
Focus marketing and branding efforts on cultivating a strong sense of prestige and exclusivity, as these factors appear to be more influential than objective product quality in the masstige segment.
Why It Matters
This insight challenges conventional product development wisdom, suggesting that marketing and brand perception play a more dominant role than functional quality in driving sales for masstige products. Designers and marketers must therefore focus on cultivating an aura of exclusivity and prestige.
Key Finding
Contrary to expectations, the study found that the perceived prestige and exclusivity of a masstige product are stronger drivers of purchase intention than its actual quality. While quality is linked to other attributes like functionality and price, it doesn't directly translate into a desire to buy.
Key Findings
- Perceived prestige value has a positive influence on product functionality.
- Perceived value and product exclusivity have a positive relationship.
- Perceived product quality does not have a positive relationship with consumer purchase intention.
- Product exclusivity does not have a positive relationship with consumer purchase intentions.
- Perceived product quality has a strong relationship with exclusivity, functionality, and price, but not directly with purchase intentions.
Research Evidence
Aim: To investigate how perceived prestige value, product quality, functionality, exclusivity, and price influence consumer purchase intentions for masstige products.
Method: Quantitative research using structural equation modeling (SEM).
Procedure: A 31-item Likert scale questionnaire was administered online to collect data on consumer perceptions of masstige products. The collected data was then analyzed using Smart-PLS to determine the relationships between key variables.
Sample Size: 177 participants
Context: Masstige product marketing and consumer behavior.
Design Principle
In masstige markets, the perception of value and status often outweighs functional attributes in driving consumer purchase decisions.
How to Apply
When designing or marketing products in the masstige category, prioritize the creation of an aspirational brand image and communicate exclusivity effectively.
Limitations
The study's findings may be specific to the cultural context of the participants and the particular masstige products examined. The reliance on self-reported data might also introduce biases.
Student Guide (IB Design Technology)
Simple Explanation: For fancy but not super expensive items (masstige), people care more about how prestigious it seems than how good it actually is.
Why This Matters: Understanding this dynamic helps in creating products and marketing campaigns that resonate with target consumers, leading to more successful product launches and brand building.
Critical Thinking: To what extent does the 'masstige' category represent a unique consumer psychology, and could these findings be generalized to other market segments?
IA-Ready Paragraph: This study's findings suggest that for masstige products, perceived prestige value is a more significant driver of consumer purchase intention than objective product quality. This implies that design and marketing efforts should prioritize cultivating an aspirational brand image and communicating exclusivity to effectively engage consumers in this market segment.
Project Tips
- When researching consumer behavior, consider the psychological drivers behind purchasing decisions, not just functional needs.
- Use quantitative methods like surveys and statistical analysis to identify significant relationships between product attributes and consumer intent.
How to Use in IA
- This research can inform the design of a user survey to explore the relative importance of perceived prestige versus functional quality for a specific product category.
Examiner Tips
- Ensure that the chosen research methodology directly addresses the research question and allows for the statistical analysis of relationships between variables.
Independent Variable: ["Perceived prestige value","Product quality","Functionality","Exclusivity","Price"]
Dependent Variable: ["Consumer purchase intention"]
Controlled Variables: ["Product category (masstige)","Demographics of participants (implied)"]
Strengths
- Employs a robust statistical method (SEM) to analyze complex relationships.
- Addresses a relevant and contemporary marketing phenomenon (masstige).
Critical Questions
- How are 'prestige value' and 'exclusivity' operationally defined and measured in this study?
- Could there be a mediating effect of brand reputation that is not explicitly captured?
Extended Essay Application
- An Extended Essay could explore the ethical implications of marketing based on perceived prestige rather than inherent quality, or investigate how different cultural backgrounds influence the perception of masstige products.
Source
EXPLORING MASSTIGE MARKETING: A PRACTICAL INVESTIGATION INTO CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS AND PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES · Journal for Business Education and Management · 2023 · 10.56596/jbem.v3i2.48