The Antecedents of Revenge Buying during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the Luxury Industry

This study investigates the underlying drivers of revenge buying behavior in the luxury sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. While prior research has largely treated revenge consumption as a form of compensatory behavior, the specific psychological motivations driving this phenomenon remain contested. Drawing on a cross-national dataset from 30 economically affluent countries, this study distinguishes two primary antecedents-perceived health threats and physical autonomy restrictions-and examines their respective effects on luxury consumption. Google Trends data on three representative luxury fashion brands (Gucci, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton) are employed as a proxy for consumer interest, and analyzed using a Gaussian copula model with Beta marginal distributions. The findings reveal that the number of COVID-19-related deaths significantly increased luxury brand interest, while higher vaccination rates reduced it. In contrast, government-imposed physical restrictions had no consistent effect. These results suggest that revenge buying is more accurately conceptualized as an emotionally compensatory response to existential threats, rather than a reactive behavior to the lifting of lockdown measures. The study contributes to the literature by offering a clear conceptual distinction between health-related and autonomy-related motivations, introducing a novel methodological approach and providing practical implications for luxury brand managers operating in post-pandemic markets.