Affordable prestige: A conceptual framework of masstige marketing and consumer behaviour in emerging markets

Abstract

Masstige marketing, a hybrid positioning strategy that fuses the symbolic appeal of luxury with the accessibility of mass market pricing, has grown rapidly across fashion, cosmetics, automobiles, and electronics over the past five years, yet the concept remains fragmented across disparate strands of literature. This conceptual paper synthesises existing research to clarify the meaning, evolution, and growing relevance of masstige marketing in the contemporary marketplace. It develops an integrated framework around four key dimensions, perceived prestige, affordability, brand symbolism, and emotional connection, and examines how these dimensions jointly shape consumer attitudes, purchase intentions, and buying behaviour. Drawing on existing literature and illustrative industry examples, particularly from India's rapidly expanding beauty, fashion, and personal care sectors, the paper traces how masstige has evolved from a niche branding tactic into a broader cultural phenomenon tied to social mobility, digital personalisation, and sustainability driven prestige. The paper further discusses managerial implications, outlining how firms can apply masstige principles to strengthen brand positioning, deepen consumer engagement, and build durable consumer brand relationships without diluting aspirational value. By consolidating a growing but scattered body of work into a single conceptual model, the study contributes an integrated understanding of affordable prestige and its significance for consumer behaviour theory and practice, particularly in emerging economies where the expanding middle class is reshaping the boundary between luxury and mass consumption.