The impact of country of origin on consumer purchase decision of luxury vs. fast fashion: case of Saudi female consumers

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of country of origin on purchase decisions of luxury and fast fashion. The countries of origin include the US and European countries like France, Italy, UK, Spain, Germany, and Sweden. Moreover, conspicuous consumption was included in this research as a mediating variable, and brands from the US and Europe were evaluated. A total of 443 women were surveyed. The data were assessed using a structural equation model and a t-test. The results confirm the positive relationship between the country of origin and purchase decision of luxury and fast fashion; conspicuous consumption acted as a mediating variable that affected this relation. The results also confirm the positive relationship between conspicuous consumption and consumer purchase decisions of luxury and fast fashion brands. No difference was found between luxury and fast fashion in terms of the relation to the country of origin and conspicuous consumption. Moreover, US brands were evaluated higher than European ones for both luxury and fast fashion. This study gives insight into the role of country of origin in purchase decisions. In addition, it provides a deep understanding of the term of conspicuous consumption and its relation not only to luxury but also to fast fashion