An investigation of pre-owned luxury brand consumption

Lu, Yunjie (2023) An investigation of pre-owned luxury brand consumption. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The explosive growth of markets for circulating pre-owned luxury brands increases the complexity of luxury branding and the resales of pre-owned luxury items, thus necessitating the study of consumption in this market. As a term, pre-owned luxury brand is composed of the words pre-owned, luxury, and brand, but it is essentially different from its components. This thesis aims to focus on the consumption of pre-owned luxury branded items and explores their role in brand relationships.

This thesis adopts an exploratory multi-method qualitative phenomenological design to address the research questions, based on three qualitative data-collection methods. Semi-structured interviews are first conducted to gain insight into pre-owned luxury consumption. Five systematic literature reviews are then conducted to synthesise the knowledge gained in prior studies that relate to the four research questions. After that, a netnographic approach is adopted to identify consumers’ online opinions of pre-owned luxury consumption from selected public forums. Finally, the three sets of findings are triangulated to enhance the richness and trustworthiness of the findings.

The findings of this thesis first reveal that pre-owned luxury branded items have seven forms, namely, pre-owned luxury, pre-loved luxury, vintage luxury, second-hand luxury, luxury collectible, new-to-me luxury, and resale luxury. The findings then reveal thirteen themes of influential factors of pre-owned luxury consumption. The findings also uncover four themes regarding consumers’ buying habits, and their online and offline channels used to acquire pre-owned luxury brands. The findings disclose the positive relationship between consumers and their pre-owned luxury brands, and their indicators.

This thesis makes both theoretical and managerial contributions. It clarifies the research objects for all studies related to pre-owned luxury consumption and uncovers the complexity of pre-owned possession consumption. It identifies the factors influencing pre-owned luxury consumption, recognises the value that contemporary consumers expect from luxury brands, and supports the positive relationship between luxury brand consumption and sustainability. It addresses the pre-owned luxury brand consumer segments and demonstrates the roles of these luxury brands in building positive consumer-brand relationships. Managerially, this thesis informs luxury brand managers of luxury branding strategies and helps luxury brand resellers realise their consumers’ motivations and buying habits. Moreover, it provides implications for policymakers who are concerned about sustainability.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School
• Supervisor's Name: Veloutsou, Professor Cleopatra and Duffy, Dr. Katherine
• Date of Award: 2023
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2023-83979
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 06 Dec 2023 16:50
• Last Modified: 06 Dec 2023 16:50
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.83979
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/83979

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