SMART LUXURY SHOPPERS’ BEHAVIOUR IN CHINA: OMNI-CHANNEL PERSPECTIVES OF GEN Y CONSUMERS

: This study examines luxury goods purchasing behaviour among Chinese Generation Y consumers in the omni-channel retail context. Traditionally, in-store purchases were favoured for luxury items due to the tactile experience and quality assessment during decision-making. However, the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 has transformed consumer behaviour. People now navigate complex decisions, embracing various channels, including online platforms. With a dataset of 354 survey responses, this study employs quantitative analysis and structural equation modelling to uncover the factors influencing Chinese Generation Y consumers' purchasing choices. The findings reveal that Generation Y luxury shoppers prioritise convenience and channel benefits. They also emphasise information sharing and community engagement, fostering shared experiences on retail platforms. Interestingly, this contradicts previous findings favouring offline channels such as webrooming. Ultimately, this study uncovers a behavioural trend where tech-savvy young consumers exhibit characteristics indicative of an interconnected marketplace. They prioritise convenience and mutual support through shared information in the luxury goods community, regardless of the item's price tag. These insights provide valuable resources for marketers and researchers navigating luxury goods promotion. As online purchasing behaviours continue to evolve, these findings facilitate impactful discussions and informed strategies within the dynamic luxury market.

As Song & Jo (2023) reported, SNS, which is an omnichannel point, is an effective tool for fashion brands because it makes brands more valuable and strengthens customer relationships (Ramadan et al., 2023).Currently, fashion companies launch online marketing plans that focus on how to improve the e-services cape to build relationships with customers and to promote brand experience and sales (Colm & Prestini, 2022).In China, in particular, SNSs have been a major online sales channel for fashion companies (Creevey et al., 2022;Workman & Lee, 2018;Yu et al., 2018b).According to Jamali & Khan (2018), many luxury fashion brands collaborate with fashion bloggers and influencers to promote their products and interact with customers directly.This has been the core activity of enhancing e-word of mouth (e-WOM), which encourages potential consumers.Based on the notion of the e-services cape as a holistic sales platform, the next sections of this study will discuss and propose an analytical framework that includes practical dimensions.
Most discussions of the e-services cape in terms of consumers' behaviour have focused on the SOR (stimulus-organism response) framework (e.g., Roy et al., 2019;Tankovic & Benazic, 2018).These works focus on the impact of e-WOM because consumers experience a sharing pathway that enhances their purchase intentions (e.g., Phan et al., 2019;Tran & Strutton, 2019).However, the framework and propositions in the eservices cape have not been combined with another critical factor: trust in online sales channels.Therefore, this study presents a holistic paradigm for smart shoppers, including both established dimensions of the eservices cape and the e-commerce attribute of consumers' perceptions of trustworthiness.
3. Methodology and research methods.The authors focused on using qualitative data to obtain a holistic perspective (Matthews & Ross, 2010).To this end, interviews based on a semi structured interview questionnaire were conducted with eligible participants.The number of interviewees was determined based on saturation criteria to ensure a reasonable data source and size (Fusch & Ness, 2015).By using semi structured interviews, the perspectives and thoughts of these participants were expected to contribute to the conceptual model design, the central theme of this study (Schultze & Avital, 2011).Additionally, the interviews were applied in a collaborative fashion with advance interpretations (Mojtahed et al. 2014).
In the omni-channel paradigm, the customer's overall evaluation and judgement of the quality of service in the virtual market is critical (Risberg, 2023).In traditional discussions of online shopping, trust in an eservice has been considered one of the key factors of the success of a service (Gusfei & Pradana, 2023).Chen et al. ( 2022) empirically confirmed that a customer's level of trust in a shopping channel is influenced by the user's web experience.Although these antecedent factors and this analytical framework have provided insights for researchers, it has been more than ten years since these models were developed.Consumers' web experiences and their trust in sales channels should be re-examined to provide a compatible analytical framework and contribute to building effective marketing strategies.Therefore, the first hypothesis that emerged is as follows: Hypothesis 1: Trust in an omni-platform has a significant impact on purchase intentions for luxury fashion goods.
Currently, technology has created more modes of communication, and types of internal and external communication have rapidly expanded.This has enabled better service for customers and better operations for businesses (Liao et al., 2023).Local organisations in various sectors use both internal and external types of communication.As part of the modern business landscape, organisations use technology to design systems that help communicate with customers and stakeholders through the Internet, become e-businesses and advance to omni-channels, where website design is a critical element influencing consumers' attitudes (Hyun et al., 2022a).In a globalised, media-driven world, communication has become easier and more exciting.Website developers find new ways to persuade online users to visit their websites, and computer developers are developing digital languages.
As Azhar et al. ( 2023) discussed, communication through technology has an impact on consumer purchase behaviour.Retailers have developed new strategies to attract omni-channel shoppers, such as responsive website designs, free shipping and content marketing.New omni-channel opportunities are not only effective at enticing one segment of the population but are also becoming more widespread for other generations.The more customised the technology, the more shoppers prefer it.Therefore, the second hypothesis developed is as follows: Hypothesis 2: Web design and the functionality of the omni-platform have a significant impact on purchase intentions for luxury fashion goods.
The millennial generation was born into a digital world, one in which everyone's lives have been made easier by products and services becoming more efficient (BouMjahed & Mahmassani, 2018).However, scholars disagree on the definition of a millennial.For instance, Howe & Strauss (2000) define a millennial as someone born between 1982 and 1999, Foot & Stoffman (1998) define them as someone born between 1980and 1995, and Gurau (2012) ) defines them as someone born between 1980 and 2000.Nevertheless, it is important to discuss how this generation has developed as a result of social changes (Taylor, 2018).The millennial generation is characterised by having grown up in a society where technology has developed at an incredibly fast rate (Gibson & Sodeman, 2014).
In the past couple of decades, SNS platforms have increased the number of options for personal communication, including purchasing behaviour (Mason et al., 2021).Communication on SNS platforms enables consumers to interact with a wide range of other consumers across boundaries, time zones and geographies.This is one of the benefits consumers experience with the e-services cape (Pandey et al., 2018;Tankovic & Benazic, 2018).Based on this discussion, the third hypothesis that emerged is as follows: Hypothesis 3: Sharing experiences on the omni-platform has a significant impact on purchase intentions for luxury fashion goods.
As discussed by Faqih ( 2022), consumers balance the potential risks and merits of using online sales channels (Bashir et al., 2018;Tian et al., 2018).While millennials support this risk and thus avert the efforts of service providers, online shopping is often as good as offline shopping.Although a large number of empirical studies have reported that perceived risks have a negative impact on online shopping intentions (Zhang et al., 2023), millennials may also view the benefits of online shopping, such as the variety of goods and services and lower prices, as positive attributes that encourage them to shop online (Mulia, 2019).Therefore, the last hypothesis developed is as follows: Hypothesis 4: The benefits of shopping on the omni platform have a significant impact on purchase intentions for luxury fashion goods.
Figure 1 summarises the devised hypotheses as a conceptual framework for this study.A quantitative method was employed in this study.The questionnaire was initially designed in English, then translated into Chinese and finally translated back into English.There were 35 rating-scale questions in the questionnaire.After six pilot tests to check the wording of the questions, 26 questions were selected based on the hypothetical framework.All of the questions used a five-point Likert scale (Oe et al., 2023).A 5-point Likert scale was used for the survey.The scale is as follows: 5: strongly agree, 4: agree, 3: neither agree nor disagree, 2: disagree, and 1: strongly disagree.The aim was a sample size of 200+, according to the estimate of the margin of error, but the sample size was ultimately 354.This highlights that the margin of error is lower than 0.07, which is a satisfactory level for statistical analysis.
The statistical programs SPSS ver.26 and AMOS ver.26 were used to test the hypotheses using the structural equation modelling (SEM) approach.SEM serves as a method for statistically dissecting causal relationships among variables and is notably valuable for delineating these relationships within the social sciences domain.SEM adeptly uncovers connections between unobservable "constructs," allowing the exploration of intricate relationships.Before conducting SEM, the data obtained were analysed to develop descriptive statistics and observe the data profile.The proposed dimensions, in accordance with the four hypotheses, were verified using confirmed factor analysis.Cronbach's alpha test was employed to ensure reliability and applicability for the SEM analysis (Hair et al., 2010).4. Results.As Lian & Yen (2014) discussed, the demographic balance of the dataset is critical for conducting an examination and discerning implications (Davisa & Prescottb, 2017;Faqih, 2016).The authors confirmed that the data profile is sufficient for the analysis of Gen Y consumers' behaviour.
Table 1 shows the profile of the dataset for this study.Table 2 presents Cronbach's alpha reliability statistics for each factor generated from the factor analysis: F1=0.805,F2=0.786,F3=0.841, and F4=0.721.All alphas are higher than 0.7, which implies that all the factors are reliable and suitable as measurements for the next step of the SEM analysis (Hair et al., 2010).0.721 Sources: developed by the authors.
Figure 2 presents the outcome of the structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis, highlighting the statistical coefficients and the significant relationships between the factors for hypothesis testing.The fit measures for the research model included a χ2/degrees of freedom ratio of 4.192 (χ2=209.606, df=50), which meets the recommended level of <5.0 (Hair et al., 2010).GFI (.905) and CFI (0.926) are also far above the recommended level of >0.90, and RMSEA (.095) also meets the recommended level of <.10 (Hair et al., 2010).Figure 2 shows that 'F4 Convenience and benefit' has the most significant impact on purchase intentions (0.944; p<0.001), followed by 'F3 Sharing experiences' (0.828; p<0.001).'F2 Web design and functionality' has the third-highest impact on behaviour, and 'F1 Trust' has significance but has the least impact on consumer behaviour (0.719).

Figure 2. The result of SEM analysis
Sources: developed by the authors.
Overall, the GFI and CFI of this model are over 0.9, which implies that this model is firmly applicable to  3. As discussed, the proposed model and its measurements are reliable and have good fit indices.All the hypotheses are supported, and tu has different levels of impact on consumers' purchase intention on the omni platform.This outcome suggests that even in the context of buying luxury goods, Gen Y consumers appreciate the benefits of multi/omni-channels, including online.This presents a unique aspect of digital natives' perspectives.The outcome with the lowest impact on their behaviour, trust, also indicates that younger consumers prioritise benefits and convenience over trustworthiness.This finding suggests that digital natives' behaviour as smart shoppers in the luxury market should be investigated in more depth to develop robust ideas to help design omni-channel retail services.
5. Discussion.This study sheds light on novel insights into luxury goods purchasing behaviour.While previous research has predominantly highlighted consumers' preference for in-store experiences when considering luxury items, our study examines the evolving landscape driven by the digital era, particularly in the context of Chinese Generation Y consumers.The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the shift towards omnichannel retailing, prompting consumers to embrace a combination of online and offline channels.Unlike earlier studies that emphasised face-to-face interactions in luxury retail, our findings underscore a significant shift in Gen Y consumers' behaviour, revealing a strong inclination towards convenience, benefits of the sales channel, and the impact of community-driven information sharing on online retail platforms.This contrasts with the assumption that offline interactions were paramount.Thus, our research bridges the gap by demonstrating the changing dynamics of luxury goods consumption among the younger digital-native generation.
Our study pioneers the application of structural equation modelling to analyse these trends, offering a comprehensive view of the underlying factors influencing purchasing behaviour.By integrating previous literature with the current findings, we contribute a nuanced understanding of luxury consumption patterns.This study's implications have far-reaching consequences for luxury marketers, enabling them to craft effective strategies to cater to the evolving behaviours of Gen Y consumers within the context of omnichannel retailing.The analytical outcome highlights the contrasting perceptions of smart shoppers with respect to luxury sales channels.This deviation from existing academic discussions primarily revolves around the shift in purchasing behaviour observed among Chinese Generation Y consumers in the context of omni-channel retailing.
While prior literature predominantly emphasised the preference for in-store experiences and face-to-face interactions for luxury purchases, our findings reveal a significant departure from this norm.Generation Y consumers, driven by their familiarity with digital platforms and increased convenience, display a stronger inclination towards online channels, particularly in terms of community-driven information sharing on retail platforms.This contradicts the earlier assumption that offline interactions were paramount for luxury shopping.
The potential reasons behind these contradictions can be attributed to several factors.The unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of online shopping and information sharing behaviours.Additionally, the ubiquity of smartphones and social network services has reshaped consumers' preferences and interactions with retail platforms.Furthermore, the rise of e-services capes and the integration of online convenience into offline shopping experiences have contributed to this shift.Our study's deviations from the literature can be attributed to the evolving technological landscape and changing consumer behaviours, particularly among the tech-savvy Generation Y cohort.By addressing these factors, we offer a more comprehensive understanding of the contradictions and their underlying reasons, thus contributing to a nuanced discussion within the field of luxury sales channels.
6. Conclusions.This study identified young Chinese consumers' unique behaviour towards smart shopping for purchasing luxury goods.The result of the SEM analysis confirmed that Chinese Gen Y consumers appreciate the convenient aspects of the omnichannel when they shop for luxury goods.Smart shoppers' perceptions contradict previous academic discussions on online and offline debates in the field of luxury sales channels (Azemi et al., 2022).Trust had the least impact of the four factors, and this phenomenon might have been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, during which consumers were not allowed to go out to shop in physical shops.How much the impact of smart shoppers increases will depend on the increasing potential of social media, as sales channels believe this enhances brands' reputations and stimulates customers' desire for luxury goods (Hemzo, 2023).Moreover, it has been suggested that this will have a positive impact on the sales of luxury goods (Hyun et al., 2022b) As a contribution, this study revealed Chinese Gen Y consumers' purchasing behaviour for luxury fashion goods based on the dimensions of the e-services cape.The findings suggest that these consumers appreciate the benefits of online shopping, even though they cannot touch and check the quality and texture of luxury fashion goods.Moreover, they appreciate sharing experiences on various channels, and they are more concerned with the convenience of online services than about the security and trustworthiness of online services.
In essence, the study highlights the contradiction between smart shoppers' perceptions and the prevailing academic discussions and debates in the field of luxury sales channels.Notably, this study identifies a significant departure from the traditional assumptions surrounding luxury purchasing behaviour.The prevailing luxury purchase models often emphasise the physical, in-store experience, contrasting it with the more utilitarian purchasing behaviour associated with everyday commodities.However, the findings presented here challenge this conventional wisdom, revealing the emergence of novel elements in the luxury purchase decision-making process among digitally adept Chinese Generation Y consumers.In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, these consumers are utilising omni-channel strategies and intensively engaging in information exchange within their communities.Contrary to previous theories that posited luxury goods as primarily experiential, the results demonstrate that the digital-savvy Gen Y cohort actively embraces luxury purchasing through omni-channel platforms.
This novel discovery holds significant implications.It underscores that the conventional understanding of luxury purchase behaviour, rooted in physical interactions, requires revaluation in the face of evolving consumer preferences and digital advancements.Furthermore, the disparity between these newfound insights and prior research's implications accentuates the need for a paradigm shift in luxury marketing strategies.The divergence between conventional wisdom and our findings necessitates a nuanced understanding of the factors influencing modern luxury consumption.Ultimately, this study offers an important contribution to both the theoretical and practical realms of luxury goods marketing, enabling a more effective adaptation to the changing landscape of Gen Y consumers' luxury purchasing behaviour within the context of omnichannel retailing.
Limitations of this research: The findings of this study contribute to the field of consumer behaviour on the omni platform in the luxury fashion market.However, consumers do not always perceive the holistic opportunities of the omnichannel; they may simply use the omnichannel to surf the Internet and think about possible sales channels based on their needs and wants.Nevertheless, this study designed an analytical framework based on four dimensions without specifying the elements of the omnichannel.
In the trajectory of forthcoming research endeavours, it is imperative to embark upon a meticulous revaluation of the questionnaire design.This endeavour seeks to unearth the intricate nuances and finely delineated facets that reside within consumers' perceptions and evaluations of the myriad attributes and elements intrinsic to the omnichannel paradigm.By navigating the labyrinthine corridors of inquiry with heightened precision, forthcoming investigations are poised to unravel hitherto unexplored dimensions that orchestrate the symphony of consumer preferences within this multifaceted realm.
Moreover, in the pursuit of enhancing the analytical potency and statistical resilience, an augmentation of the sample size presents itself as an invaluable proposition.This strategic augmentation would, in turn, foster the emergence of more resolute and robust outcomes, embellished with empirical veracity and enhanced generalizability.Such an augmentation bears the promise of unveiling deeper insights, thereby enriching the scholarly landscape with findings that resonate more profoundly with the dynamic interplay of the omnichannel milieu.In essence, through meticulous questionnaire refinement and the amplification of the sample size, the future research landscape stands to be adorned with intricately woven threads of discernment, manifesting as a testament to the unwavering commitment to unravelling the intricacies and nuances that enrobe the captivating tapestry of the omni-channel experience.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Conceptual framework Sources: developed by the authors.
*** means p < 0.001 (note2) "1 fix" means coefficient value fixed as 1 the dataset.The path coefficients are summarised in Table

Table 2 .
Cronbach's alpha test for the four factors