Luxury Consumer Tracking Study

A quarterly customized report about the what products and brands luxury consumers are buying and how much they spend on luxuries  

In today's hyper-competitive environment, market research is not an option; it is a necessity. Luxury marketers that want to win must stay vigilant in tracking the shifts, turns, and changing preferences in their affluent consumer market. They need up-to-the-minute data, as well as a historical perspective, to anticipate the next major luxury business opportunity or branding challenge. Unity Marketing's Luxury Consumer Tracking Service is designed for luxury marketers who need to know all there is to know about their consumer market.

Launched in January 2004, and every three months thereafter, Unity Marketing has measured the pulse of the affluent consumers in a longitudinal survey of 1,000-1,200 affluent consumer households. Each quarter the Luxury Consumer Tracking Study reports what luxuries they bought during the past quarter, how much they spent, where they bought, the luxury brands they became aware of and used, and how they felt about their current and prospective financial status.

Based upon the results of the survey, Unity Marketing also publishes a Luxury Consumption Index which tracks how luxury consumers feel and helps marketers anticipate consumers. spending in the coming quarters.

Track Future Shifts in the Luxury Market Before They Actually Start to Impact Your Business

Luxury tracking gives luxury marketers the ability to track the ups and downs in the market in real-time and discover how their target market feels about their luxury spending over the next three months. In addition to the four quarterly tracking studies, marketers also receive a year-end summary of luxury consumers. purchases and spending on four categories of the luxury market, including home luxuries, personal luxuries, automobiles and experiential luxuries.

The Luxury Consumer Tracking Service is a cost-effective way for luxury marketers to monitor their brand awareness and usage among their target market. With this data, they can hold their advertising agencies accountable for producing results among the affluent target market.

Luxury tracking gives marketers the data they need to predict changing patterns of affluent shopping consumer behavior before it occurs, so they are ready with new products and marketing initiatives before the changes and shifts in consumer behavior start to gain traction.

The Luxury Consumer Tracking Service is a vital tool to gain more insight and understanding about the luxury market from one of the nation's foremost experts on the mindset of the luxury consumer, Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses -- as well as the Classes (Dearborn Trade Publishing, January 2005).

Luxury Tracking Covers Purchase Behavior including the "New Luxury" Consumers to the Truly Affluent

The survey tracks and analyzes three distinct segments in the luxury consumer market representing the top 20 percent of U.S. households by income -- that represents 22.2 million households at the top of the income range.  Throughtout 2008 the average consumer surveyed had a household income of about $200,000.

• Comfortably Affluents, household incomes of $100,000-$149,999, that comprise 13.4 million households or 12 percent of the nation's 116 million U.S. households. This segment represents about half the typical luxury tracking survey sample.
• Super-Affluents, income of $150,000-$249,999, that total 6.6 households, or roughly 6 percent of all households.
• Ultra-Affluents, the income segment making $250,000 and above, that represent the highest spending segment in all categories of luxury, and who make up 1.9 percent of U.S. households, or 2.2 million households.

In the typical luxury tracking survey, the Comfortable Affluents make up about half of the survey sample, and the Super-Affluents and Ultra-Affluents together make up the other half.

Syndicated Study Is Customized to Allows Luxury Marketers to Include their Brands and Top Competitors Brands in the Survey

Every quarter subscribers receive an analysis report about purchases, spending and shopping choices, including luxury brand purchase and usage. The luxury tracking survey provides the basic structure that is customized to meet the specific needs of each subscriber, adding their key brands and 5-6 competitor brands. Categories included in the luxury tracking survey include:

Home Luxuries

• Art and Antiques (Specific data is collected on already-framed reproductions; unframed reproductions; custom-framed art or reproductions; other custom framing; original art; sculpture, statues, 3D art; antique furniture and collectibles; wall decor)
  
• Electronics and Photography Equipment (Computers; iPods and other MP3 devices; cameras; cellular phones; televisions; DVD/video players; audio equipment; home entertainment systems; PDA's)
  
• Furniture, Lamps and Floor Coverings (Lamps and lighting; upholstered furniture; wooden furniture; rugs and floor coverings)
  
• Garden and Outdoor (Patio furniture; grills; lighting accents; fencing; power gardening equipment; decorative pots; garden statues; chimeneas and outdoor stoves; garden shelters; water gardens; porch and patio decorative accents)
  
• Home Decorating Fabrics, Wall and Window Coverings (Wall coverings, such as wall paper; ready-made curtains, drapes; window coverings, such as blinds, shades; home decorating fabrics for custom upholstery, curtains, drapes, etc.)
  
• Kitchen Appliances, Bathroom Equipment and Building Products (Kitchen appliances, such as stoves, ovens, refrigerators; bathroom equipment, such as tubs, showers, toilets, fixtures; kitchen equipment, such as cabinets, countertops; air conditioning/filtration systems; water systems)
  
• Kitchenware, Cookware, Housewares (Small appliances; cookware; bakeware; cutlery; storage and organization; barware)
  
• Linens and Beddings (Sheets and pillowcases; comforters, spreads; pillows and pillow accents; bath linens; mattresses and box springs; duvets and shams; feather beds and mattress covers; table linens)
  
• Tabletop, Dinnerware, Stemware, Flatware (Dinnerware, glassware and crystal, flatware, servingware and decorative accents)

Personal Luxuries

• Clothing and Apparel (Women's casual, dress/business, formal/evening, outerwear; men's casual, dress/business, formal/evening, outerwear; teen's clothing; children's clothing; baby clothing)
  
• Cosmetics, Fragrance and Beauty Products (Fragrances, perfumes; bath and body lotions; face care; hair care; cosmetics and makeup; sun and tanning products)
  
• Fashion Accessories (Women's handbags, shoes, brief cases, and fashion accessories, such as scarves, belts; men's wallets, brief cases and men's fashion accessories, including shoes, belts, etc.; luggage for men and women)
  
• Jewelry (Women's and men's jewelry by type, including necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, bridal/wedding, pins and brooches; women's and men's jewelry by material, including 14k and above gold, sterling silver, platinum, gold plate or vermeil, costume jewelry; and women's and men's jewelry by stone, including diamonds, other precious gemstones, semi-precious gemstones, pearl, faux or man-made, no gemstone content)
  
• Watches (Women's and men's watches by style, including formal/dress or casual/sports)
  
• Wine, Liquor and Spirits (Wine, champagne, vodka, whiskey, rum, scotch, cognac, bourbon, sherry/port)
  
• Automobiles 

Experiential Luxuries

• Dining (Fine dining restaurant chains; celebrity restaurants)
  
• Entertainment
  
• Home Services (Housecleaning/maid service, lawn care, landscaping, party planning/catering, pool service)
  
• Personal Instruction
  
• Spa, Massage, Beauty and Cosmetic Services (Botox injections; dermal fillers, such as Restylane, Juvederm, etc.; laser treatments; hair salon and other treatments, including cut, color, conditioner, masque;  facials and other treatments, including facial peels, dermabrasion, etc.; manicures/pedicures and other nail treatments;  massage and other body treatments;  facial cosmetic surgery, including rhinoplasty, face lift, eyelids, etc.; body cosmetic surgery, including liposuction, breast augmentation, reduction, etc.)
  
• Travel (Foreign and domestic luxury hotels, commercial air, resorts, cruises, group tours, adventure travel, private air travel)

Where People Shop for Luxuries Also Tracked

Not only does the Luxury Tracking Study include products and brands, it also investigates where people buy their luxuries, including department stores and luxury retailers, including Saks 5th Avenue, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Barney's, Macy's and Dillards, as well as the discounters that are popular with luxury shoppers, notably Costco, Target, Kohls and even Wal-Mart.

Types of stores tracked by product category include non-store retailers, internet providers and mail order; home furnishing specialty stores; fashion boutiques; appliance/electronics stores; garden/outdoor centers; hardware; pet; art gallery; gift store; jewelry store and more.

Special Added-Value Feature: Every Quarter New Subjects Are Researched

In addition to the regular battery of luxury tracking questions, every quarter a different topic of special interest to luxury marketers is explored. Some recent special investigations included: 

• Trends in green marketing among luxury consumers
  
• Luxury consumers and their Internet shopping
  
• Loyalty marketing and luxury consumers
  
• Countries that product the best luxury goods

For the 2009 sales year, subscribers will set the agenda for the special topics for research.

What Subscribers Get:

1. Luxury Consumer Tracking Survey quarterly analysis report of what the affluent consumers bought in the past three months, what they plan to buy in the next three months, how much they spent and their brand preferences. Each subscriber will have their brands and up to five or six key competitor brands included in the survey.
   
2. Luxury Market Report, 2009 - The Ultimate Guide to eh U.S. Market for Luxury Goods and Services
   Year-end summary of luxury consumer purchases and spending, covering trend years 2007-2008 consumer purchases. This annual report represents $3,500 value.
   
3. Access to Unity Marketing's affluent consumer survey panel --  Subscribers can access this affluent consumer survey panel for customized market research projects. Costs to be calculated separately.
   
   
4. Half-price discount on all other Unity Marketing reports ordered.

Annual Subscription to Luxury Tracking Study: $12,500

For New Subscribers:  Special No-Risk Trial Subscription is available.  Click here to learn more.