Reimagining the Luxury Department Store: Investigating the Millennial Luxury Consumer and the Luxury Department Store from a Systems Perspective

Observed shifts in consumer behavior have created disruptions and comprehensive change in retailing processes as a whole. The most dramatic change in consumer shopping behavior lies within the Millennial cohort. As a result, luxury department stores have struggled to find relevancy with these younger consumers. Millennials seemingly have an increased desire for luxury, items yet hold negative attitudes towards luxury department stores. Currently, no literature addresses Millennial luxury consumers, their connection with disruptions in the retailing industry, and particularly in regard to the luxury department store. Therefore, the authors propose a model to investigate the Millennial luxury consumer and the luxury department store based on systems theory. The proposed model will be used to understand the interactions and interdependence between the Millennial consumer, the fashion retailing industry, and specifically the luxury department store, from a holistic systems perspective. Additionally, the model can be valuable to the luxury department store retailer as it will provide support for strategic adaptations to ensure consumer attainment and business sustainability.

Keywords: Luxury Retailing; Millennial Consumer; Luxury Department Stores; General Systems Theory; Business Sustainability