“Buying status” by choosing or rejecting luxury brands and their counterfeits

Even in difficult economic times, many consumers consider the social implications of the goods they select and therefore take into account whether those goods carry a luxury brand label—which for some will be authentic, for some counterfeit. While previous research has investigated influences on the authentic vs. counterfeit choice, this study adds a third possibility: rejecting both types of luxury brands to show that one has better claims to status than “buying the label.” This study tests a model of three alternative brand type choice processes and finds support for the importance of status considerations in the selection or rejection of luxury brands.