Abstract:

Expensive-oriented price image is a complex concept. Expensiveness is not assessed in the same way by consumers and sales formats. The measures proposed by the literature are for the most multidimensional and fail to consider the richness of this concept. This study proposes a measure of price image. An exploratory and qualitative study helped generate a pool of items. Then, the obtained list has been subject to a questionnaire-based survey in order to determine the dimensions that would better conceptualise price image in the context of purchasing cosmetic products and perfumes. Three dimensions have been identified: the dimensions of “price security”, “proposed brand” and “value”. These dimensions have been then compared to unveil the difference between a specialised store price image and a nonspecialised store price image. A mean difference test is conducted to attest for the hypothesis that a non-specialised store price image is evaluated more positively than a specialised store price image. Our study is not nonetheless without limitations. The implications and limitations of our study open up new research venues worth exploring.