Purpose: The rise of middle-income people in emerging markets such as India makes it an appealing market for luxury companies. Although there are signs that Indian consumers show a growing interest in masstige products, there seems to be a lack of research on the role of masstige marketing and the influence of the country of origin (COO). The study investigated the significance of the masstige value and COO of the smartphone brands in the Indian market.

Design: The study employed a quantitative approach to evaluate how consumers perceive the prestige value of various smartphone brands and the country of origin influence. The primary data were collected using a survey questionnaire design. Data were collected from 425 Delhi respondents and evaluated using ANOVA, chi-square test, Pearson correlation, and t-tests. The MMSS, created by Paul (2015), was used to obtain masstige values.

Findings: The findings highlighted the gap in masstige value between American and Asian brands among Indian customers. In addition, the results demonstrated that price, quality, and social popularity influenced the COO effect, and brand perceptions of Indian consumers were highly influenced by their searches for information about the brands’ COO.Practical

Implications: The study provided tactics and suggestions for increasing smartphone sales in India based on how shoppers understand mass prestige. It provided marketing information for smartphone makers trying to enter the emerging Indian market.

Originality: Masstige luxury diverged greatly from conventional luxury. Country-of-origin analysis could provide unique insights on masstige trends, especially in a price-conscious and growing market like India.

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