Assessing the brand luxury perception through in-store and digital shopping experience: An empirical analysis

In recent decades, e-commerce has become an integral part of the business activities of any company as more and more individuals choose to make their purchases online. This applies to a variety of product categories and now also to luxury goods. Nevertheless, the online shopping experience and the more traditional one in a physical store differ considerably in several factors. The possibility of touching the product or wearing it in the case of a garment or accessory are undoubtedly the first differences that jump out at the consumer. To minimise the gap between the physical store and the online store, an increasing number of companies are using online augmented and virtual reality tools to provide the opportunity to “try on” products. In particular, luxury companies seek to offer highly innovative and engaging online shopping experiences. The aim of the present study is to analyse, through an empirical research consisting of the administration of an online questionnaire, whether the use of virtual reality in the online shopping experience allows the consumer to perceive luxury and whether there is a difference compared to in-store shopping in order to assess its effects on consumer behaviour in terms of purchase intention and word-of-mouth. Participants were asked to evaluate two possible scenarios representing the online and in-store experience in terms of luxury perception as well as luxury brand authenticity, following a promotional campaign launched by Dior with the message “Come in...and try on your luxury sunglasses” through which the company invites people to enter a Dior store or use the virtual reality of the Dior app to try on sunglasses. Through the survey, it was possible to assess whether the use of virtual reality to enhance the online shopping experience actually can compromise the perception of luxury with any negative effects on consumer behaviour compared to the traditional in-store experience. The results reveal some interesting differences between digital and in-store concerning the perception of luxury and the effects on consumer behaviour, which allowed theoretical and marketing implications to be defined.