Retail café cup preferences: evidence from global and domestic coffee brands

Purpose The rapidly expanding coffee market in an emerging economy provides the context for this study, which examines how café cup design in café retailing influences purchase intention. It compares customers of Starbucks (a global semi-luxury brand) and Luckin Coffee (a domestic budget-oriented brand) in China to explore how differences in brand origin and positioning shape the underlying psychological mechanisms that drive consumer responses. Design/methodology/approach Using PLS-SEM, this study examines how aesthetic, symbolic and functional design influence purchase intention through hedonic and utilitarian values, with gender as a moderator. Multigroup analysis is used to compare the two brands. Findings All three design facets significantly influenced hedonic and utilitarian values, which in turn shaped purchase intention. Gender differences were observed only in the Starbucks context (females were hedonic-driven; males were utilitarian-driven), whereas no differences emerged in the Luckin context. Symbolism and utilitarian value effects were stronger for Starbucks than for Luckin. Originality/value This study contributes to the luxury branding and retail merchandising literature by using the everyday café cup as a context to examine consumer preferences for design attributes. It develops an integrated framework that simultaneously examines aesthetics, symbolism, and functionality, thereby advancing research on product design and consumer behaviour. It extends current understanding by demonstrating that functionality contributes to both hedonic and utilitarian value, while revealing gender and brand differences through a social role theory perspective. These findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of how product design shapes consumer behaviour in café retail contexts.