Co-Branding of Luxury Fashion Brands and Technology Brands and Retail Channels: Focusing on Consumer Perceptions of Status-Signaling

Abstract

The current study aimed to investigate the impact of luxury fashion–tech collaborations and their retail channels on consumers’ desires for luxury items and perceptions of luxury fashion brands’ images via status-signaling perceptions. Two research models were built based on signaling theory, and two experiments tested the causal effects of two independent variables in each sub-study: luxury fashion–tech collaboration status and luxury fashion brand prestige (in Study 1) and brands that carry luxury fashion–tech collaborative products and retail channels (in Study 2). Study 1 used a 2 x 2 (luxury fashion–tech collaboration status: with vs. without a tech component in the product because of the collaboration) x (luxury fashion brand prestige: top-tier vs. accessible) mixed design. Data from a total of 58 men and women Amazon MTurkers in the United States who were between 18 and 35 years of age was used for analyses. Consequently, a luxury item from a top-tier luxury fashion brand (vs. an accessible luxury fashion brand) resulted in a higher rating in terms of all consumer responses. Although the collaboration status had no statistically significant impact on consumers’ responses, the interaction effect between a luxury fashion–tech collaboration and luxury fashion brand prestige on perceptions of status-signaling of the luxury item showed that, for the top-tier luxury fashion brand, consumers perceived the regular luxury item (i.e., without a tech component) as more status-signaling than the one with the luxury fashion–tech collaborative product (i.e., with a tech component). In contrast, for the accessible luxury fashion brand, consumers perceived the luxury fashion–tech collaborative product as more status-signaling than the regular luxury item. Thus, as expected, it was demonstrated that the effect of the luxury fashion–tech collaboration on perceptions of status-signaling of the luxury item was more beneficial to accessible luxury fashion brands compared with top-tier luxury fashion brands. However, this positive impact did not extend to the other two consumer responses—consumer desires for the luxury item and perceptions of the luxury fashion brand’s image. The perceptions of status-signaling of the luxury items had positive impacts on the two consumer responses, as expected. However, the mediation effect of perceptions of status-signaling of the luxury items was not supported. Study 2 used a 2 x 2 (brands that carry luxury fashion–tech collaborative products: luxury fashion brand vs. tech brand) x (retail channel: physical store vs. online store) mixed design. Data from a total of 59 men and women Amazon MTurkers in the United States who were between 18 and 35 years of age was used for analyses. Accordingly, products carried by luxury fashion brands evoked higher perceptions of status-signaling of the luxury fashion–tech collaborative products compared with those carried by a tech brand. However, this positive impact was not extended to the desire for luxury fashion–tech collaborative products and perceptions of the luxury fashion brand’s image. There was no interaction effect between brands that carry luxury fashion–tech collaborative products and retail channels. As expected, perceptions of status-signaling of the luxury fashion–tech collaborative products had positive effects on the two consumer responses, as in Study 1. The mediation effect of perceptions of status-signaling of the luxury fashion–tech collaborative products was significant for both consumer responses, thereby demonstrating the indirect impact of the brands that carry luxury fashion–tech collaborative products via the mediator. The current study has theoretical implications in that it extends the literature on signaling theory. Brands are known to signal their qualities to consumers, and the current study demonstrated brands’ practices in the collaboration context. The current study also demonstrated that the alliance of luxury fashion and tech brands could maximize the signaling function through retailing strategies. Regarding the co-branding literature, the current study took a luxury fashion brand’s perspective for the first time in terms of a luxury fashion–tech collaboration and identified which brand (luxury fashion vs. tech) should preferably carry luxury fashion–tech collaborative products to enhance consumer responses. Finally, it identified the mechanism of these responses—namely, perceptions of status-signaling of the products. The current study has practical implications in that it provides retailing strategies as well as guidance for marketing strategies for luxury fashion brands of different levels of prestige when partnering with technology brands.