Motivated by differentiation or assimilation: How consumer motives shape luxury channel use

The rapid digitization of luxury retail has changed how consumers interact with luxury products and services, expanding the range of both online and offline channels. In this evolving landscape, understanding the factors that can influence consumers' online channel use is critical for luxury businesses. This research explores the role of two core social identity motives in luxury consumption, differentiation (the desire to stand out) and assimilation (the desire to fit in), in shaping consumers' luxury channel choices. Using a proprietary dataset of 1,879 verified luxury consumers from eight major Chinese cities, we provide empirical evidence that differentiation reduces exclusive online channel use, whereas assimilation increases it. Additionally, we demonstrate that status signaling amplifies the negative effect of differentiation on exclusive online channel use, whereas social engagement strengthens the positive effect of assimilation. These findings offer novel insights by applying social identity motive theory to the context of digital luxury consumption and examining luxury channel choice, an understudied aspect of luxury behavior. This study highlights the importance of symbolic and identity-driven motives in shaping luxury channel usage, providing practical guidance for multi-channel retailers to align channel strategies with consumers' diverse identity needs.