Factors Influencing Millennials’ Jewellery Purchase Decisions in the Indian Market

Abstract

The research focuses on the determinants of jewellery purchases by Millennials in the Indian market with particular focus on psychological, social, digital, and sustainability-oriented factors. India is one of the biggest jewellery markets in the world, but the behavioural pattern of Millennial customers differs significantly with the past generations. Based on the luxury consumption theory, impulse buying behaviour, sustainability orientation and digital engagement models, the research creates a unified model that explains how buyers can be intended to buy and outlay their purchases. A questionnaire was done on 412 Millennial consumers in the largest Indian metropolitan cities. Decomposition Structural Equation Modeling was used to support hypothesised relations between brand image, sustainability perception, digital engagement, social influence, impulse buying tendency, purchase intention, and purchase behaviour. The results show that the brand image and the sustainability perception are the most predictable variables of the purchase intention, whereas the impulse buying directly impacts on the actual purchasing behaviour to a significant degree. Digital participation and social impact also portray significant positive impacts. The model describes a great deal of variance in the purchase intention and purchase behaviour. The study is part of the literature on luxury consumption because it puts the global challenges in context with the jewellery industry in India. Managerial implications indicate that jewellery brands need to focus on sustainability transparency, normal Internet experiences, and good brand positioning to have an established presence in the ever more competitive and tech-driven market of Millennial consumers.