Marketing luxury services beyond affluence in the new normal: Insights from fine dining during the coronavirus pandemic

The market for luxury is no longer exclusive to the affluent society and the prevalence of conspicuous consumption among the mass society is a testament to the rise of mass prestige (masstige). Of particular interest in this study is fine dining, a luxury service that consumers pursue and enjoy in the hospitality industry. Though many studies on luxury goods avail, few studies have investigated luxury services such as fine dining, with little insights on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its consumption. We argue that research in this direction is important given the unprecedented impact that the pandemic has had on humanity and the need to respond to potential changes in customer expectations for luxury services such as fine dining in a post-pandemic era. Hence, in this study, we investigate the antecedents and consequences of customer satisfaction with fine dining using a Delphi study to acquire and examine field data from customers who continue to dine in fine-dining restaurants during the pandemic. Our findings suggest that fine diners place an emphasis on food quality (sensory experience, satiety value, menu selection), hygiene, and price when evaluating their satisfaction of the fine-dining experience during the pandemic, which significantly influences their future recommendation of the fine-dining restaurant to others. No significant differences in customer behavior based on income were observed, thereby lending credence and support to the idea of masstige marketing.