Consumer–brand relationships within the luxury cosmetic domain

Abstract

Relationship marketing and practice has undergone a paradigm shift in recent years, becoming globally recognized and adopted. Yet despite this, empirical work exists in developing relational phenomena between consumers and the brands they purchase from. An exception of this is a study by Fournier, which considered relationship phenomena in the context of consumer goods, although no research has proved to consider consumer–brand relationships within the luxury cosmetic sphere. This study aims to address this limitation by examining relationship typologies and brand personality, seeking to uncover their relevance within the luxury cosmetic domain. Specifically the study (i) identifies relationship typologies between consumers and their luxury cosmetic brands, proving that consumer–brand relationships exist within this domain; (ii) highlights the importance of brand personality to the relationship dyad; (iii) identifies key themes that prove significant to consumer–brand relationships within this context, which allowed for relationship typologies that prove most important to maintaining strong relationships to be identified within a luxury cosmetic context. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed with consideration to Fournier’s 15 types of brand relationships, which were used in order to classify relationships within the luxury cosmetic context. Further analysis illustrated the significance of brand personality, demonstrating that brand personality has the power to shape and define the relationships that consumers wish to form. In addition, key relationship typologies within this sphere were identified, using themes that were uncovered through thematic analysis, which proved a deeper insight into relational phenomena. The results can be interesting not only for academic purposes but also for the industry as the managers of luxury cosmetic brands need to know well their consumers in order to reinforce the relationship between the brands and the customers.