Explaining the relationship between atmospheric cues and behaviour in a Masstige context. The role of income

This paper is aimed at contributing to atmospherics research, by exploring the complex relationship between the atmospheric cues (like music, temperature, and scent) and consumer behavior. Literature hasprovided a wealth of contributions on the topic, providing empirical evidence from several contexts, like restaurants, theme parks, andshopping malls. Little research has explored the role of atmospherics in the peculiar context of New Luxury goods. Originally conceptualized by Silverstein and Fiske (2003), New Luxury goods apply some marketing techniques generally used by traditional luxury brands (e.g.,creating an aura of exclusivity), but selling to a much wider public (in particular, masstige goods). Once the answer to more sophisticated,educated and wealthy customers, after the 2008 recession masstige appears to have changed its meaning, becoming the only alternative, forlow-income customers, to buy nonfunctional, high-involvement goods: in some sense, the only alternative for self-indulgence purchases.Given those new connotations of the masstige phenomenon, in which financial possibilities are the primary constraint for consumers buyingsuch goods, the paper presents an empirical study aimed at studying how income impacts on atmospheric perceptions in a masstige context,and, in turn, on behavioral intentions, providing some interesting insights for future research.

Keywords:

masstige , democratic luxury , atmospherics , fast fashion jewellry