Blockchain in the luxury industry: measuring consumers’ acceptance of Blockchain-based applications

Abstract

Luxury brands face multiple challenges regarding their Supply Chain management and counterfeiting. They are slowly integrating Blockchain technology into their operations to help solve these issues, as it can help enhance the efficacy of their supply chain processes and guarantee the traceability of luxury goods. With the help of Blockchain, consumers can claim ownership of their products by having digital certificates tracing the products’ lifecycles. However, Blockchain is often associated with negative implications, such as cryptocurrency. This study examines the acceptance of luxury brands’ consumers of Blockchain. Through a qualitative approach using a survey, the study examines the willingness of consumers to accept this new technology and integrate it into their luxury product purchase processes. The study shows that trust positively affected consumers’ intention to use Blockchain-based mobile applications to register their luxury items and that Blockchain awareness positively moderated trust. However, the result did not show any significant impact of perceived risk on intention to use. This paper can be helpful for luxury brands as it illustrates how they should create a trustful relationship with consumers for their application to be utilized.