The Effect of Monogram Usage in Luxury Brands on Consumer Perception and Purchase Intention

This thesis investigates the effects of monogram visibility on consumer perceptions and purchase intentions in the luxury fashion context. Drawing on Signaling Theory, Hagtvedt and Patrick's (2008) aesthetic response framework, and Sirgy's (1982) Self-Congruity Theory, a between-subjects experiment was conducted with 159 participants randomly assigned to one of three conditions: high monogram visibility, low monogram visibility, and no monogram. The study examined whether monogram visibility directly influences purchase intention (H1), and whether this relationship is mediated by perceived brand prestige (H2) and self-brand congruence (H3). A fictitious luxury handbag brand was used to eliminate prior brand associations. The manipulation check confirmed that participants successfully differentiated the no monogram condition from both visibility conditions. However, none of the three hypotheses were supported: monogram visibility did not produce significant effects on purchase intention, perceived brand prestige, or self-brand congruence across conditions. Despite the null main effects, both perceived brand prestige (B = .542, p < .001) and self-brand congruence (B = .846, p < .001) emerged as strong predictors of purchase intention, with self-brand congruence alone explaining 64.5% of its variance. A robustness check confirmed that luxury brand familiarity was a significant positive predictor across all outcome variables. The findings suggest that monogram visibility may function as an effective prestige signal only when the brand possesses sufficient cultural meaning and is familiar to consumers, pointing to an important distinction between signal strength and signal legibility. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.