immigrants' use of prestige brands to convey status - Emerald

If they could see me now: immigrants’ use of
prestige brands to convey status
Lynn Eunjung Kwak
The School of Human and Consumer Science, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA, and
Jane Z. Sojka
College of Business Administration, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the degree of ethnic identity and demographic characteristics (the length of residency in the USA,
education, income, age, and origin of ethnicity) in relation to brand purchases for status.
Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a survey of 324 retail customers of Hispanics (n ¼ 173) and Asians (n ¼ 151) with
analysis performed using regression analysis, t-tests, and ANCOVA.
Findings – The stronger an immigrant identifies with his/her ethnic culture, the more likely he/she is to purchase high-priced branded products for
status purposes. Immigrants with higher incomes are more likely to purchase high- priced prestige brands. Younger immigrants report a greater
propensity to purchase high-priced prestige brands. No relationship with the dependent variable was found with length of time in the USA, education,
and origin of ethnicities of immigrants.
Originality/value – The major contribution of this research is to demonstrate the importance of ethnic identity strength, to reveal the major
demographic variables on immigrant consumer behaviors, and to identify means by which practitioners can effectively use ethnicity strength, income,
and age to target immigrant consumers.
Keywords Prices, Brands, Social status, Ethnic groups, Consumer behaviour, United States of America
Paper type Research paper
An executive summary for managers and executive
readers can be found at the end of this article.
Introduction
Consumers are drawn to purchase brand-name products for
multiple reasons. On a very basic level, brand names enhance
product liking (Klink, 2001), act as memory cues (Keller et al.,
1998; Walvis, 2008) and simplify consumer choice (Ambler,
1997). In the case of brand extensions, brand names help
consumers avoid risk; instead of experimenting with an
unfamiliar product, consumers can rely on a trusted brand
extended to a new product category (Aaker and Keller, 1990;
Boush and Loken, 1991). Consumers also use brand names
as indicators of product attributes (Wanke et al., 2007).
Hence, consumers use brands in a variety of ways to help
make purchase decisions.
Companies use high prices, or prestige pricing, to position
brands as high quality and exclusive (Vigneron and Johnson,
1999). Hence, a high-priced brand signals status to
consumers. The use of prestige brands as a surrogate for
status is especially applicable to immigrants. Immigrants
reflect their ethnic identity and distinctive demographic
characteristics, cultural heritage, and belief system in their
shopping behaviors (Fowler et al., 2007). A review of the
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Journal of Consumer Marketing
27/4 (2010) 371–380
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0736-3761]
[DOI 10.1108/07363761011052404]
relevant literature on consumer socialization suggests that
socio structural variables such as gender, age, and
socioeconomic status should be examined in an exploration
of brand sensitivity (Beaudoin and Lachance, 2006).
For immigrants, purchase and consumption of prestige
brands may be a way of establishing themselves in a new
world and new culture. If this is the case, we would expect to
see differences depending on the degree of identification with
their ethnic subculture. In early studies on the degree of
ethnic identification, Hirschman (1981) emphasized that the
degree of ethnic identification determines the individual level
of commitment to host culture norms and consumption. In
addition, Deshpande et al. (1986), in their study of the
intensity of ethnic affiliation, pointed out that measuring the
strength of ethnic identification among ethnic groups is
necessary. They concluded that within the same general
ethnic group, individuals vary in their levels of identification.
These researchers found greater similarity between weak
Hispanic identifiers and Anglos than between the two strong
and weak Hispanic identifier groups in terms of preference for
prestige and ethnically advertised brands.
Our study explores Hispanics and Asian immigrants and
their propensity to purchase high-priced prestige brands.
According to US Census Bureau (2005) data, the nation’s
foreign-born population accounts for 12 percent of the total
US population. Both Hispanic and Asian groups are among
the fastest growing consumers in the US population. Both
Hispanic and Asian groups maintain geographic
concentration in where they live, which enables marketers to
reach them strategically. Yet, for these two immigrant
populations, cultural and socio-economic environments are
different. For example, large numbers of Hispanics are from
Mexico and maintain a strong Catholic religious affiliation. In
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Immigrants’ use of prestige brands to convey status
Lynn Eunjung Kwak and Jane Z. Sojka
contrast, Asians tend to have higher education, income levels,
and subsequent spending power than their Hispanic
immigrant counterparts.
Specifically, we examine the relationship between
purchasing high-priced prestige brand items with these two
immigrant populations’ strength of ethnic identity and
demographic characteristics. With this study, we hope to
contribute to the limited body of research on the effects of
ethnic identity strength and socio structural variables on
recent immigrant consumer behaviors. To practitioners, we
hope to provide with directions regarding how to target recent
immigrant consumers.
Theoretical framework
Price-based prestige purchase behavior
In their study of prestige-seeking purchase behavior, Vigneron
and Johnson (1999) categorized prestige-seeking purchase
motivation into four quadrants:
1 Veblenian;
2 snobs;
3 band wagons; and
4 hedonists (see Figure 1).
These quadrants were based on the importance/unimportance
of price as an indicator of prestige and the public/private
consciousness of the consumer. For immigrants, the
Veblenian effect appears especially appropriate in gaining an
understanding of purchase motivation.
Conspicuous consumption, which is the same for Veblenian
effect in this context, is the use of products to signal wealth
and infer status and prestige (Veblen, 1899). For conspicuous
consumers, a higher priced product is equated with a higher
conveyed status (Lichtenstein et al., 1993). Hence, according
to conspicuous consumption, consumers motivated by selfexpression
of status would be more likely to view price as an
indicator of a prestige than other consumers. Coupling high
price with a brand known for prestige would be especially
appealing to consumers motivated to purchase products that
convey status and wealth.
Literature review and hypotheses
The rational, emotional, and social utility of brands in
private
Brands serve as extrinsic cues for consumers in addition to
price. Brands simplify the purchase process in addition to
conveying rational, emotional, and social utility value to
Figure 1 Conceptual framework of prestige-seeking consumer
behavior
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Volume 27 · Number 4 · 2010 · 371–380
consumers. Rational utility is used by consumers for
evaluation purposes. Performance, quality, price, reliability,
and logistics are examples of rational factors considered by
consumers when choosing a brand name product (Blackwell
and Stephan, 2004; Cohen and Areni, 1991;Vazquez et al.,
2002). More specifically, research has found consumers rely
on brands to ascertain product functions (Bhat and Reddy,
1998; Long and Schiffman, 2000), product innovativeness
(Ambler, 1997; de Chernatony, 1993), and product reliability
(Dawar and Parker, 1994; Keller, 1998). Using the utilitarian
contributions of the brand aids consumers in product choice
based on rational needs.
Brands also contribute emotional value based on hedonic
aspects of brand and product (Bhattacharya and Sen, 2003;
Thomson et al., 2005; Vazquez et al., 2002). This symbolic
utility has been conveyed through aesthetics (Forsythe et al.,
1999; Na et al., 2008; Schmitt and Simonson, 1997), novelty
(Long and Schiffman, 2000; Sheth et al., 1991), and
emotional experience (Ambler, 1997; Bhat and Reddy,
1998; Long and Schiffman, 2000). Consumers form
emotion-laden attachments to brands that characterize the
consumer/brand relationship (Ball and Tasaki, 1992;
Mikulincer et al., 2001). Brand attachment has been shown
to influence the effectiveness of brand extensions (Fedorikhin
et al., 2008; Kim et al., 2007).
Furthermore, brands serve a social function by providing
personal identities for consumers through symbolic meanings,
thereby helping consumers reinforce their personal selfconcept
(O’Cass and Frost, 2002). Self-concept is a
multidimensional construct indicating the attitudes and
perceptions people hold of themselves (Mehta, 1999).
Possessions, including branded products, are endowed with
symbolic meaning that then reflect and reinforce who we are
(Belk et al., 1982). According to self-congruity theory,
consumers seek out possessions that are congruent with
their self-concept (Sirgy et al., 1997). Brands can be used to
reflect who we are and may take on the role of an extended
self (Belk et al., 1982). For example, “We don’t buy jeans –
we buy Levi’s; we don’t buy sunglasses, we buy Ray Ban and
we do not buy water – we buy Perrier” (Kohli and Thakor,
1997, p. 207). Hence, matching brand images and personality
help consumers establish and reinforce their self-concept.
Brand symbolism in public
Brands reinforce individual identity as well as possess
symbolic properties on a group level that can convey social
meanings within groups (Jevons et al., 2005; O’Cass and
Frost, 2002; Workman, 1998). Particularly in the USA, where
necessities are easily obtained by all, the social meaning of
goods may be the dominate factor in product purchase and
consumption decisions. Social status represents one example
of a symbolic meaning conveyed through high-priced brands
(Motameni and Shahrokhi, 1998). Publicly-consumed
products – both branded necessities such as Rolex watches
or Lexus cars, and luxury products such as boats and club
memberships – are also indicators of social status (Bearden
and Etzel, 1982; Workman, 1988). Even a product as simple
as jeans can convey information on the status of the wearer. In
a study of clothing purchases, it was found that respondents
rated people who wore designer (e.g. Polo) or brand name
(e.g. Seven) jeans more highly than those clothed in an
ordinary (e.g. Route 66) store brand (Workman, 1988).
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Immigrants’ use of prestige brands to convey status
Lynn Eunjung Kwak and Jane Z. Sojka
Although brand, price, and other extrinsic cues (e.g.
country of origin, design features) can be used by consumers
as surrogate indicators of quality and value (Dawar and
Parker, 1994; Dodds et al., 1991; Rao and Monroe, 1989),
prestige brands – so signified by expensive prices – indicate
status and wealth (Vigneron and Johnson, 1999). Hence,
prestige brands create value for the consumer by providing
status recognition (from family, friends, and reference groups)
and communicating the role position of the brand user
(Langer, 1997; Zinkhan and Prenshaw, 1994). Wealth as
demonstrated through material possessions provides one of
the strongest measures of status and social success (Byrne,
1999). For consumers, visible consumption of status brands
essentially defines success and the notion of having “made it”
in society (Langer, 1997).
Immigrants and the purchase of prestige brands
Ethnic identity – or how people in the ethnic group relate
within their own group as well as their larger society (Berry,
1980) – has been found to influence purchases (Dyer et al.,
2006), price reactions (Ackerman and Tellis, 2001), brand
loyalty (Saegert et al., 1985), and acceptance of brand
extensions (Monga and John, 2007). Immigrants who have
assimilated into the host (USA) culture, thereby reducing
ethnic identity with their original home culture, may not need
to rely on surrogate means, such as prestige brands, to
establish status and reinforce self-concept. However, for
example, immigrants who maintain strong ethnic ties to their
home culture yet no longer have the occupation, home,
community position, and so on to reinforce their self-concept
and identity may rely on other means for establishing status,
wealth, and power. It is those with strong ethnic identity, and
presumably less assimilation, who would turn to surrogate
measures, such as prestige brands, to establish status.
Researchers have noted multiple differences between
cultures with regard to purchase behavior (Monga and John,
2007). For example, price is not considered an important
quality cue for Mexican women (Dunn, 1996) and Korean
consumers have a distinct preference for foreign brands (Park
et al., 2008). Although each immigrant to the USA brings
unique aspects of the native culture with him/her, the
underlying immigration experience may be similar. Regardless
of home culture, an immigrant arrives in a new culture with
no identity, limited means of communicating self-concept,
and at least initially, lack of traditional means of status
through job title, income, social status, or reference groups.
Hence, for an immigrant, product purchase and consumption
may be an important means of establishing themselves in a
new world. If brands are used by immigrants as a visible
demonstration of status, based on the Vigneron and Johnson
(1999) framework, we suspect that immigrants with higher
degrees of ethnic identification would be more likely to
purchase expensive prestige brands as indicated by the
Veblenian effect. Hence, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H1. The degree of ethnic identification of immigrants (i.e.
Hispanic and Asian) to the USA will be related to a
preference for high-priced prestige brands.
The meaning of cultural artifacts, including product
symbolism, is a learned process as part of acculturation. For
example, trucks may be just another form of travel for French
consumers, but to Americans, trucks symbolize freedom,
ruggedness, and a sense of adventure. Symbolic properties of
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Volume 27 · Number 4 · 2010 · 371–380
brands would require a longer residency in order for
immigrants to acquire the symbolic brand meaning.
However, high-priced prestige brands convey status, in part,
on the basis of their price. Hence, once the price is established
as “expensive” the symbolic meaning of prestige is conveyed.
If the veblen effect accurately identifies the motivation behind
immigrant prestige brand purchases, we would expect length
of US residency to have no relation on the propensity to select
high-priced prestige brands. Therefore, the following
hypothesis is proposed:
H2. The length of residency in the USA will have no
relation to a preference for high-priced prestige brands.
As newcomers to a strange land, in a sense, immigrants may
see themselves as innovators or early adopters in terms of
trying new products and brands unavailable in their home
cultures. Whereas they may be comfortable with existing
brands in their home culture, the new environment, the
unavailability of familiar brands or some combination thereof
may propel immigrants to experiment with purchasing new
brands similar to innovators or early adopters who are among
the first to buy new products. Like products new to the
market, high-priced prestige brands are more costly and
therefore would require increased resources – income and
education – to obtain (Rogers, 2003). To that end, the
following hypotheses are proposed:
H3. Education levels will be significantly related to a
preference for high-priced prestige brands.
H4. Income levels will be significantly related to a
preference for high-priced prestige brands.
The age of an immigrant may also influence a preference for
high-priced prestige products. Extant research across cultures
has shown that status-seeking young people prefer foreign
luxury brands (Park et al., 2008; Phau and Leng, 2008).
Young people – lacking careers, income, and other means of
communicating status – turn to clothing and other visible
products to reveal or establish status and feel good about
themselves (Daters, 1990). Research has found that young
people identify and prefer status brands more readily than
older consumers and that brand sensitivity tends to decrease
with age (Beaudoin and Lachance, 2006; Belk et al., 1982;
O’Cass and Frost, 2002). Although young people from
different cultures are grounded in unique cultural heritages,
we suspect that, to a certain degree, young people are similar
the world over and, regardless of cultural background, are
more likely than older, more established people to purchase
expensive prestige products. Hence, we propose the following
hypothesis:
H5. Age of respondent will be significantly related to a
preference for high-priced prestige brands.
Finally, one of the premises of this research is to demonstrate
that the immigration process – not necessarily the culture
from which one is immigrating – produces consumer
behavior that can be generalized across cultures. If this is
true, and people are people the world over, we should not see
differences in preference for high-priced prestige brand
products between origins of ethnicity of immigrants.
Consequently:
H6. Origin of ethnicity (i.e. Hispanic and Asian) will have
no relation to a preference for high-priced prestige
brands.
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Method
To more accurately capture ethnic identity and behavior in
natural settings, this study employed field research conducted
in retail shops located in ethnic neighborhoods (in the
Chicago area). This approach allowed for a realistic
examination of the effects of ethnic identity on shopping
behavior (Forsythe et al., 1999). Retail store customers were
randomly selected in retail sites and they received a gift card
($2) as an incentive. This study included only female
customers in order to eliminate the potential for gender
bias. The surveys were prepared in English, Spanish, and
Korean due to the large Korean population in the region.
Translation and back-translation techniques were used and
bilingual researchers cross-examined both versions. The
questionnaire took about 10 minutes to complete. Usable
survey collection resulted in a total of 324. Two ethnic
groups, Hispanics (n ¼ 173) and Asians (n ¼ 151)
participated in this study. Demographic characteristics of
the respondents are presented in Table I.
Measurements
A price-brand prestige scale (Netemeyer et al., 1995)
consisted of six questions; coefficient alpha reliability for the
scale was 0.79 in this study. Participants were asked to
indicate the degree to which they agreed with each statement.
The statements were measured on a five-point Likert-type
scale (1 ¼ strongly disagree; 5 ¼ strongly agree). In this scale,
a high score indicates that a consumer generally believes that
purchasing high-priced brands lead to greater enjoyment and
better impressions of her status. A lower score suggests that a
Table I Demographic characteristics of participants
Characteristics n Percent
Residency in the USA
Less than 3 years 55 17.0
3-10 years 89 27.5
11-15 years 51 15.7
16-20 years 55 17.0
Over 20 years 72 22.2
Age
25 years or less 116 35.8
26-35 98 30.2
36-45 51 15.7
46-55 34 10.5
Over 56 25 7.7
Individual income
Below $15,000 133 34.9
$15,001-25,000 78 24.0
$25,001-35,000 64 19.8
$35,001-45,000 49 15.1
Education
Elementary 24 7.4
Middle school 38 11.7
High school 116 35.8
Associate degree 66 20.4
Undergraduate and beyond 80 24.7
Note: n ¼ 324
Immigrants’ use of prestige brands to convey status
Lynn Eunjung Kwak and Jane Z. Sojka
consumer does not see a general association between price
and prestige. A principal component factor analysis among
these items resulted in one factor (see Table II). Factor
loadings ranged from 0.57 to 0.79. Respondents were asked
“how strongly do you identify with your ethnic culture?” to
measure their strength of ethnic identification. The statement
was also measured on a five-point Likert-type scale
(1 ¼ strongly disagree; 5 ¼ strongly agree).
Results
H1 through H5 were tested using regression analyses. The
results (see Table III) indicated that the strength of ethnic
identification (b ¼ 0.10, p , 0.05) and higher income
(b ¼ 0.12, p , 0.05) predicted a preference for high-priced
prestige brands. Age (b ¼ 20.27, p , 0.05) negatively related
to the preference for high-priced prestige brands. Therefore,
H1 (a degree of ethnic identification), H4 (income level), and
H5 (age) were supported. These independent variables were
significantly related to a preference for high-priced prestige
brands. Length of residency in the USA (b ¼ 0.09, p . 0.05)
and education (b ¼ 20.05, p . 0.05) were not related to
preference for high-priced prestige brands. Therefore, H2 (the
length of residency in the USA will have no relation to a
Table II Question items and factor loadings for price-brand prestige
Items
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Volume 27 · Number 4 · 2010 · 371–380
Factor Cronbach’s
loading a
People notice when you buy the most expensive
brand of a product 0.57 0.79
Buying the most expensive brand of a product
makes me feel classy 0.68
I enjoy the prestige of buying a high-priced
brand 0.70
It says something to people when you buy the
high- priced version of a product 0.74
I have purchased the most expensive brand of a
product just because I knew other people
would notice 0.79
Even for a relatively inexpensive product, I
think that buying a costly brand is impressive 0.70
Eigenvalues 2.97
Percentage of variance 49.54
Table III Regression analysis of the demographic characteristics on the
preference for high-priced prestige brands
Standardized coefficients
Demographic characteristics b t p
Strength of ethnic identification 0.10 1.97 0.04
Length of residency 0.09 1.73 0.08
Education 20.06 20.05 0.34
Income 0.12 2.05 0.04
Age 20.27 24.50 0.00
(constant) 2.8 11.35
R 2 0.08
F 4,313 ¼ 6.87,
p # 0.05
Adjusted R 2 .06
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Immigrants’ use of prestige brands to convey status
Lynn Eunjung Kwak and Jane Z. Sojka
preference for high-priced prestige brands) was supported.
However, H3 (education levels will be significantly related to a
preference for high-priced prestige brands) was not
supported.
To test H6 (there will be no significant differences between
Hispanic and Asian immigrants and their preference for highpriced
prestige brands), t-tests and ANCOVA analysis were
used. First, a t-test was conducted in order to compare the
difference of preference for high-priced prestige brand among
Hispanics and Asians. The result indicated that there was no
significant difference ( p . 0.05) in the means of Hispanics
(M ¼ 3.24) and Asians (M ¼ 3.09). Then, a series of t-tests
were conducted in order to examine the demographic
differences between these ethnics. The results of t-tests
indicated that all demographic characteristics were
significantly different between these two ethnics (Table IV).
The results of each Levene’s test were not significant for all
outcome measurements, which indicated that the assumption
of homogeneity of variance was met for t-tests.
Finally, these demographic variables were used as covariates
in ANCOVA analysis in order to consider demographic
characteristic differences between ethnic groups in testing H6.
The results indicated that there was still no difference in the
preference for high-priced prestige brands among Hispanics
and Asians (F ¼ 0.04, p . 0.05) regardless of their
demographic characteristic differences. The results of the
analysis with covariates indicated that demographic
differences did not influence the initial result. Therefore, H6
was supported (see Table V and Figure 2).
Discussion and implications
We conclude that immigrants who have a high degree of
ethnic identification, have higher income, and are younger in
age are more likely to purchase high-priced prestige brands.
The preference for prestige brands was unrelated to years of
residency in the USA and education. Our results confirm and
extend the work of others who have examined brand and
pricing issues in cross-cultural contexts. Most notably, we
extended the work of Forsythe et al. (1999) by examining two
extrinsic cues – price and brand – as interpreted by
immigrants from diverse cultural backgrounds.
As predicted, immigrants with a high degree of ethnic
identification indicated preferences for high-priced prestige
brands. The current study confirms and extends the results
found by Deshpande et al. (1986). Deshpande et al.
concluded that Hispanics who had a higher ethnic affiliation
had a preference for purchasing high-priced prestige brands.
The present study found that the positive relationship
between the degree of ethnic strength and preference for
purchasing high-priced prestige brands not only applied to
Table V Hypotheses and results
Hypotheses
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 27 · Number 4 · 2010 · 371–380
H1. Immigrants to the USA with a high (as opposed
to low) degree of ethnic identification will express
a preference toward the purchase of high-priced
prestige brands
H2. The length of residency in the USA will have no
relation to a preference for high- priced prestige
brands
H3. Education levels will be significantly related to
a preference for high-priced prestige brands
H4. Income levels will be significantly related to a
preference for high-priced prestige brands
H5. Age of respondent will be significantly related
to a preference for high- priced prestige brands
H6. Origin of ethnicity (i.e. Hispanic and Asian) will
have no relation to a preference for high-priced
prestige brands
Results
Supported
Supported
Not supported
Supported
Supported
Supported
Figure 2 Model for recent immigrant consumer’s Veblenian behavior
Hispanics but also to Asians. This study also found that
there was no difference in preference for purchasing highpriced
prestige brands between two diverse immigrant
populations. Therefore, these findings imply that the
preference for purchasing high-priced prestige brands to
reinforce and communicate status is related to the degree of
ethnic identification but not related to the origin of
ethnicities.
Table IV Mean scores and t-tests between Hispanics and Asians on their demographic characteristics
Hispanics (n 5 173) Asians (n 5 151)
Demographic characteristics M SD M SD t(n5 324)
Length of residency 3.1 1.4 2.8 1.4 3.37 *
Education 2.8 1.0 4.1 0.9 211.13 **
Income 1.7 0.9 2.5 1.1 26.87 **
Age 1.8 1.3 2.6 1.0 26.25 **
Note: M ¼ Means, SD ¼ Standard deviations (n ¼ 324); * p , 0.05; ** p , 0.001
375

Immigrants’ use of prestige brands to convey status
Lynn Eunjung Kwak and Jane Z. Sojka
Furthermore, our results show that younger immigrants are
also more likely to prefer high-priced prestige brands, which is
consistent with the results of studies examined in other
countries. Beaudoin and Lachance’s (2006) study, which was
conducted among Canadian adolescents, found that age was
significantly related to brand sensitivity. Phau and Leng
(2008) found that Australian teenagers, especially those that
were status-seeking teenagers, had a positive attitude toward
foreign luxury brands. These findings suggest that there are
similarities among age groups that may transcend crosscultural
boundaries. Therefore, additional research increasing
the sample size and the number of cultures represented is
recommended.
Theoretical implications
Our results further extend the work of Vigneron and Johnson
(1999) who studied consumer motivation to purchase highpriced
prestige brands. Our results show preliminary support
for the Veblenian effect (brands as indicators of status) with
immigrant participants. In addition, our study identified
demographic characteristics of immigrants that are
significantly related to high-priced prestige brands. Income
is a factor in establishing social class: an indicator of status.
Immigrants who have attained higher income levels have
established status, wealth, and power; hence, they are able to
utilize high-priced prestige brands as a means to communicate
their social standing as they desire. Additional research is
needed to further substantiate the veblen motivational effect
versus other possible motivations to account for immigrant
purchases of prestige products in different socio structural
variables.
Practitioner implications
The potential for generalization across cultural boundaries
can prove cost-effective for practitioners targeting immigrants.
Practitioners in the USA have been alerted to the need for
distinguishing between subcultures within cultures, such as
differences between various Asian populations (e.g. Korean,
Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc.) or Hispanic/Latinos
populations (e.g. Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Spanish).
Products, promotions, and other marketing mix components
must be individually tailored toward each segment within
each subculture; however, segmenting within a subculture
becomes a costly proposition. Our research suggests that one
aspect – high-priced prestige brands – might transcend
culture and appeal to immigrants regardless of their home
culture. The results of this research indicated that the
preference for the high-priced prestige brands depends on the
degree of ethnic identification rather than the origin of
ethnicities. Therefore, practitioners need to be aware of the
intensity of ethnic affiliation as an important concept in their
business. In addition to reducing the costs of targeting
multiple sub-cultures within a culture, offering high-priced
prestige brands also provides higher mark-up and greater
potential for profitability for retailers.
To effectively target immigrant populations, our results
suggest that brand name alone is not sufficient; the prestige of
the brand is further reinforced by its high price. Thus, it
behooves retailers offering high-priced prestige brands to
target those immigrants with higher incomes and ethnic
identity. However, if these immigrants drawn to high-priced
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 27 · Number 4 · 2010 · 371–380
prestige brands are indeed early adopters as suggested by
Rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovation model, then a new
market of early majority immigrants with lower income might
be a secondary target market for retailers.
To target early majority immigrants who aspire to the status
but lack the economic resources, sales promotion tactics
might be used. Sales promotions – short term price incentives
to encourage sales without reducing the prestige indicated by
price – would be one means of reaching price sensitive
customers without alienating existing markets. Sales
promotion tactics such as rebates, price packs, two for ones,
or bonus offers could be used to attract lower income early
adopters trying to imitate innovators and early adopters.
Additional research is needed to determine the most effective
sales promotions to target immigrant populations and to
determine generalizability of these sales promotion tactics
across cultures.
When determining which high-priced prestige brands to
carry, it is suitable for practitioners to identify product/brand
trends catering to younger consumers. Our results suggest
that younger immigrants, like their American counterparts,
are more disposed to purchase high-priced prestige brands.
Future research is needed to identify product categories and
brands which are especially appealing to younger immigrants
so that practitioners can capitalize on youthful propensities
toward high-priced prestige brands. Further research
questions include the following. Is the propensity for highpriced
brands a function of the need for young people to
establish themselves in the eyes of others? If so, we would
expect to see similar behavior manifested (although not with
branded products) in third world or economically deprived
cultures. Or is the propensity toward high-priced branded
products a function of the “flat world” where the media and
internet have facilitated cross-cultural communication?
Additional research on young people’s attraction to highpriced
prestige brands is warranted.
Finally, for future research, the emphasis on price and
brand as an indicator of status raises interesting questions in
terms of counterfeit products. Counterfeit products are
similar to high-priced prestige products in that they offer
status at a glance. The difference is that counterfeits are not
produced by the branded firm and are significantly less
expensive to purchase. Would the high ethnic identification
group who prefers high-priced prestige products be persuaded
to purchase status-laden, but lower cost counterfeits? Our
guess is no, but future research could further establish the
importance of price in establishing brand status by comparing
attitudes and purchase intentions for counterfeits versus
actual branded products. Future research is needed to further
generalize these results to other immigrant populations.
Three limitations of this study should be noted. The
participants were only females; therefore, the results cannot
be applicable to males. The Hispanics and Asians ethnic
groups who participated in this study were not identified by
country of origin. Thus, further study may distinguish the
country of origin among these ethnic groups. Finally, 58.9
percent of the participants had an income that was under
$25,000. Future study may include higher income immigrants
to examine their preferences for high-priced prestige brands
as a means to convey status.
376

Conclusions
Despite the limitations of this study, it contributes to the
literature and provides valuable implications for practitioners.
Retailers understand that prestige luxury brands are desired
by mass consumers including the growing ethnic populations
who see a high-priced prestige brand as a status symbol.
Previous studies often neglected to examine the degree of
ethnic identification and assumed that people within each
ethnic group were homogeneous. This study confirmed that
the degree of ethnic identification and the demographic
characteristics were vital variables for understanding
immigrant consumption behavior.
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About the authors
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 27 · Number 4 · 2010 · 371–380
Lynn Eunjung Kwak is an Assistant Professor at The School
of Human and Consumer Science, Ohio University. Her
Master’s degree was from University of Minnesota and her
PhD from Florida State University. She teaches retail
merchandising, product development, and strategic retail
policy. Her research interests include ethnic consumer buying
behavior and product development in retail industry. Lynn
Eunjung Kwak is the corresponding author and can be
contacted at: Kwak@ohio.edu
Jane Z. Sojka graduated with honors in English from
Indiana University and obtained her MBA from Wichita State
378

Immigrants’ use of prestige brands to convey status
Lynn Eunjung Kwak and Jane Z. Sojka
University and her PhD from Washington State University.
She is a recent recipient of Ohio University’s University
Professor teaching award and is the current Robert
H. Freeman Professor of Marketing. Dr Sojka has worked
as a marketing consultant prior to being employed as
materials manager for the Coleman Company. Research
interests include affect and decision processing, relationship
selling, visual/verbal communication, branding, and food
purchase/consumption.
Executive summary and implications for
managers and executives
This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives
a rapid appreciation of the content of this article. Those with a
particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in
toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the
research undertaken and its results to get the full benefits of the
material present.
Consumers justify the purchase of brand named products
based on the value ascribed to the brand. Immigrant
consumers currently represent about 12 percent of the
current USA. (US Census Bureau, 2005). Hispanics and
Asian ethnic groups are the fastest growing populations in the
USA, in terms of size and spending power. It therefore
behooves retailers to understand the buying behavior of these
significant ethnic groups. While previous research has tended
toward segmenting these ethnic groups into smaller, subcultural
segments, we take the opposite approach and look for
similarities in buying behavior so that practitioners may gain
from economies of scale. This paper examines propensity to
purchase high-priced prestige brands by Hispanic and Asia
immigrant consumers.
Degree of ethnicity and brand value
Consumers use high-priced prestige brands as a means of
conveying status. According to Veblen, conspicuous
consumption allows people to project an image of success or
status via purchases that convey meaning. High-priced
prestige branded products (such as Gucci sunglasses or
Louie Vuitton purses) may be used by the consumer to
convey a status image to others. The need to use high-price
status brands to convey status may be particularly useful to
immigrant populations in the USA.
Immigrants to the USA may arrive in a new culture with no
identity, limited means of communicating self-concept, and at
least initially, lack of traditional means of status through job
title, income, social status, or reference groups. Hence, for
immigrant populations, product purchase and consumption
may be an important means of establishing themselves in a
new world.
This paper investigates the proposition that immigrants
with higher degrees of ethnic identification are more likely to
purchase expensive prestige brands. Immigrants, who have
assimilated into the host (US) culture, thereby reducing
ethnic identity with their original home culture, may not need
to rely on surrogate means, such as prestige brands, to
establish status and reinforce self-concept. However those
immigrants who retain strong ties with their ethnic identity
(regardless of years in the USA) may be prone to high-price
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 27 · Number 4 · 2010 · 371–380
brand purchases to convey status and reinforce their selfconcept.
One of the premises of this research is to demonstrate that
the immigration process – not the culture from which one is
immigrating – produces consumer behavior that can be
generalized across cultures. If this is true, we would expect
similar preferences for high-priced prestige brand products
regardless of different ethnic origins of immigrants. In
addition to examining the effects of ethnic identification,
years in the USA, education, income and age are also
investigated for propensity to purchase high-priced branded
products.
Study and results
The degree of ethnic identity and demographic characteristics
(the length of residency in the USA, education, income, age,
and origin of ethnicity) were examined in relation to brand
purchases for status. Data were collected in a large,
Midwestern city at a retail outlet where immigrant
populations shop. Using both English and translated
surveys, degree of ethnic identity, propensity toward brand
purchases were collected via established scales; the remaining
variables were single-item questions. A total of 324 immigrant
consumers participated in the research with both ethnic
groups similarly represented (Hispanics; n ¼ 173 and Asians;
n ¼ 151).
Results show degree of ethnic identity, income, and age
predict the purchase of high-priced prestige brands to convey
status. Stronger identity with his/her ethnic culture, results in
a greater likelihood to purchase high-priced branded products
for status purposes. Similarly, immigrants with high incomes
are more likely to purchase high-priced prestige brands. And,
consistent with US research on teens, age was found to be
inversely related to brand purchases. Younger immigrants
report a greater propensity to purchase high-priced prestige
brands. The propensity to purchase high-priced prestige
brands was not related to immigrants’ length of time in the
USA, education, or origin of ethnicity.
Marketing implications and ideas for further research
Marketing theory purports that marketing components must
be individually tailored to successfully target each segment
within each subculture; however, segmenting within a
subculture becomes a costly proposition. Our research
suggests that one aspect – high-priced prestige brands –
might transcend culture and appeal to immigrants regardless
of their home culture. The results of this research indicated
that the preference for the high-priced prestige brands
depends on the degree of ethnic identification rather than
the ethnic origin of immigrants. Therefore, practitioners need
to be aware of the intensity of ethnic affiliation – not just
ethnic affiliation – as an important concept in understanding
their customers’ purchase behaviors. In addition to reducing
the costs of targeting multiple sub-cultures within a culture,
offering high-priced prestige brands also provides higher
mark-up and greater potential for profitability for retailers. In
short, our results suggest that retailers targeting immigrant
consumers with high degrees of ethnic identification, high
income, and/or younger in age should include high-priced
prestige brands in their product lines.
In addition to targeting immigrants who maintain strong
ethnic identities, immigrants who aspire to status but lack
economic resources, might also be susceptible to purchase
379

Immigrants’ use of prestige brands to convey status
Lynn Eunjung Kwak and Jane Z. Sojka
high-priced prestige brands for status purposes. Because the
high price signals status, sales promotion tactics (short term
incentives to encourage sales), instead of permanent price
reductions, should be used. Coupons, rebates, buy-one-getone
half-off sales promotions could be one means of reaching
price sensitive customers without alienating existing markets.
Additional research is needed to determine the most effective
sales promotions to target immigrant populations and to
determine generalizability of these sales promotion tactics
across additional cultures.
When determining which high-priced prestige brands to
carry, it is suitable for practitioners to identify product/brand
trends catering to younger consumers. Results suggest that
younger immigrants, like their American counterparts, are
more disposed to purchase high-priced prestige brands.
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 27 · Number 4 · 2010 · 371–380
Future research is needed to identify product categories and
brands which are especially appealing to younger immigrants
so that practitioners can capitalize on youthful propensities
toward high-priced prestige brands.
In conclusion, our research suggests that immigrants with
stronger ethnic identity, with high income, and who are
younger in age, have a greater propensity to purchase highpriced
prestige brand products as a form of status. These
results were consistent across two different cultures: Hispanic
and Asian. Our results suggest that the process of
immigration, not just the home culture, may contribute to
purchase preferences in the host US culture.
(A précis of the article “If they could see me now: immigrants’ use
of prestige brands to convey status”.)
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