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Press Release Luxury Consumers Just Want to Have Fun Status and exclusivity don't get you very far in today's luxury market where enjoyment and pleasure is the ultimate goal Stevens, PA August 30, 2006 - Luxury consumers primarily pursue their luxury lifestyles in order to maximize their personal enjoyment and pleasure. This is the key finding in Unity Marketing's most recent investigation into the importance of a range of motivators that drive luxury consumers in making luxury purchases and published in the latest Luxury Tracking Report. (http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/reports2/luxury/luxury2Q2006.html) A total of 1,012 luxury consumers were surveyed in July 2006 with an average income $147.9k and average age of 43.4 years. Over half of the luxury consumers (52 percent) reported that enjoyment and pleasure was very important when it came to making their most recent luxury purchases, including both luxury goods and experiences. "What luxury marketers and retailers learn from these findings is that they need to keep the consumers' joy and pleasure front and center when it comes to positioning their brands, developing marketing messages and designing their products," says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of the new book Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience.
Luxury Purchase Motivators Rated Extremely Important
Enjoyment & Pleasure 52%
Enhances Quality of Life 39% Special Treat 38% Expresses My Personal Style and Who I Am 35% Personal Enrichment 35% Reward for Hard Work 34%
Way to Reduce Stress 29% Makes Me Feel Special and Unique 29% Adds Beauty or Excitement to My Life 28% Deepens My Relationship with Family 28% Uniqueness 27% Provides Meaning in My Life 22% Sharing with Friends 21%
What Is Expected of Me at My Stage of Life 13% Exclusivity 13% Status 9% Social Standing 7%
Exclusivity & status don't mean much Of far less importance as a motivator for luxury consumers in pursuit of their luxury lifestyles are factors, such as exclusivity (13 percent rated this very important and 59 percent said it was unimportant or not needed); status (9 percent very important and 71 percent unimportant or not needed); and social standing (7 percent very important and 73 percent unimportant or not needed). These lowest ranked values are of slightly more importance to the super-affluent consumers ($150,000 and above) than they are to the lower income segments. Danziger says, "Perhaps one needs to achieve a certain minimum level of income for these societal and status factors to enter into the luxury equation. For example, how much social status can a near-affluent luxury consumer ($75,000 to $99,999) achieve through luxury purchases given their lesser spending power? On the other hand, the super-affluent with their significantly higher incomes have the means to achieve a level of perceived status through luxury purchases, so having the means may give them the motive." But Danziger notes, even at the super-affluent income levels the differences between near-affluents and super-affluents in ratings of these motivators are 5 percentage points or less, so it is a very subtle difference indeed. Putting these findings to work in luxury marketing What luxury marketers and retailers learn from these findings is that luxury is all about fun for the consumer, with the consumer looking for luxury that makes them smile, rather than luxury that is too serious or heavy. Luxury consumers have enough of the serious and heavy in their lives; so when it comes to indulging in luxury, they want to have fun. The fact is many luxury consumers view their luxuries as a personal reward for hard work (34 percent) or a special treat (38 percent). Danziger says, "Let's face it, sometimes luxury marketers take our brands just a bit too seriously. Better that we be lighter hearted and simply try to have more fun with our brands, more fun with our products and thus be more fun for our consumers. Happy people having fun are simply contagious. We gravitate toward that and want a piece of it ourselves." In terms of the leading brands in Unity Marketing's luxury tracking, those brands which embrace pleasure and joy as a key branding value outrank in overall brand awareness those brands that are more serious and staid. For example, BMW, the top automobile brand based on consumer awareness, promises, "Sheer Driving Pleasure," whereas the lower-ranked Mercedes Benz gives you "Leadership: 120 Years Later, the Legend Continues." Or Cadillac with lower brand awareness than BMW promises only "Life. Liberty. And the Pursuit." - leaving out happiness. In clothing and apparel brands, who can argue that top ranked Ralph Lauren Polo embodies a more playful and fun fashion expression than runner-ups Chanel or Louis Vuitton. And in fashion accessories, Coach, a more fun and funky brand, leads in overall brand awareness over the European status brands. Danziger concludes, "For marketers in the process of developing a luxury branding campaign or creating a new product line or designing a flagship store for the U.S. luxury markets, one of the essential ingredients they should highlight is the 'fun quotient.' While any luxury brand must work to deliver utmost quality, leading edge design and an impeccable service, they also must be sure all that is done with an eye toward the sheer pleasure, enjoyment and ultimate fun of the target consumers." Unity Marketing publishes its Luxury Tracking Study quarterly with the next due in September/October 2006. For more information visit (http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/reports2/luxury/luxury3.html)
About Unity Marketing's Luxury Consumer Tracking Study Every quarter Unity Marketing conducts a Luxury Consumer Tracking Study among 1,000+ luxury consumers. Year-end 2005 statistics compiled from the four 2005 tracking studies will be published in Unity Marketing's Luxury Report 2006 - Who Buys Luxury, What They Buy, Why They Buy (http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/reports2/luxury/luxury1.html) In the tracking study detail purchase information is collected on these categories of luxury: Home Luxuries: * Art, Wall Décor & Antiques Personal Luxuries: * Automobiles and/or recreational vehicles, such as boats, RVs, etc. Experiential and Luxury Services: * Travel and vacations Luxury brands & magazines Also included in the tracking study are measures of luxury brand awareness and usage as well as magazines luxury consumers purchase. http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/reports2/luxury/brands.html provides a listing of brands. Special Luxury Research: What Influences Luxury Consumers When They Shop for Specific Luxuries Each quarter a topic of special interest to luxury marketers is researched. In the 2Q2006 study, luxury consumers were asked about what influenced their most recent luxury purchase in all categories. The specific influences included in the survey were style and design; good value for price; store where purchased; brand or designer of product; exclusivity; internet research and information; on sale; recommendations of friends; articles and reviews and advertisements. Also included was a question about the motivations for luxury purchases. How to Subscribe This is a semi-custom research service with subscribers adding specific product categories and their brands and the brands of five key competitors to the survey. In addition, subscribers can add up to six personal questions to the survey through the year. Use this link for more information about subscribing to luxury tracking http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/reports2/luxury/luxurytracker_reg.html, or call Pam Danziger at 717-336-1600. August, 2006 (About 100 pages) Published Price Full Report, including brand rankings: $2,500 Executive Summary Topline 2Q2006 Results: $750 (Please Note: With the purchase of a report, subscribers may apply the subscription fee for 2Q2006 report to annual Luxury Tracking subscription) Contact: Pam Danziger, 717-336-1600 For media: Charts, tables and graphs are available on request. About Pam Danziger and Unity Marketing Advising such clients as Lenox, Cartier, PPR, Rémy Amerique, Phillips/Norelco, Stearns & Foster, Prudential Fine Homes, Baccarat, The World Gold Council, The Conference Board and American Express, Danziger taps consumer psychology to help clients navigate and master the changing luxury marketplace. Her latest book, Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses-as well as the Classes, (Dearborn Trade Publishing, $27, hardcover) is in book stores now. She is the author of the recent book, Why People Buy Things They Don't Need: Understanding and Predicting Consumer Behavior (Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2004). Her new book, Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience, will be published Fall 2006.  |
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