| I have been confronted with many different comments | | | | gender, it was no surprise that women account for |
| and free opinions regarding people's feelings about | | | | well over 60% of luxury product purchases. Some |
| luxury. To some people the word luxury is over used, | | | | psychologists may analyze a luxury purchase against |
| to others it is a hidden desire to obtain what has been | | | | an internal question that may be lingering in our heads, |
| placed just outside their perceived reach. I use the | | | | "are we good enough," so we buy as a status symbol. |
| words 'perceived reach' as some marketers have a | | | | I know that the world is made up of many different |
| way of placing products in our consciousness that are | | | | kinds of people, and yes status does come into play |
| perceived both within and just out of our reach. | | | | for some and thus the many different elements that |
| Regardless that people feel that the word luxury is | | | | the term luxury holds, but I feel that no matter how we |
| over used in website names, product demonstrations, | | | | slice and dice the decision process, emotion, passion, |
| and marketing ads, so far no one has come up with a | | | | and desire for knowledge drive us to make decisions. |
| term that so captures the essence of a segment. | | | | Luxury is a word and only a word, and when |
| Though terms like bling-bling have captured specific | | | | someone does something that makes them feel good, |
| age and segment ranges, they have a tendency to | | | | or they buy something that others may perceive as |
| fade as the fad elements change over time. On top of | | | | extraordinary, they did it because, well, they could. My |
| everything, even if people feel the term luxury is | | | | favorite responses to why people do things are, |
| overused if they are asked, they all have their "luxury" | | | | "because it was there" for adventures, and "because I |
| list from cars, hotels, destinations, restaurants, chefs, | | | | could" for everything else. |
| spa experiences, cosmetics, sporting equipment, | | | | Thus, luxury is emotion, passion, and a thirst for |
| clothes, and on-and-on. | | | | knowledge; it is a state of mind where we feel good |
| Luxury transcends a simple definition as it has become | | | | about buying a trip, experiencing a spa treatment, |
| a state of mind for people. With the Internet influencing | | | | learning about new products, going on a trip in search |
| well over 50% of luxury purchases from fact finding to | | | | of items for a personal collection, canoing the rapids, |
| price comparisons and in some cases the actual | | | | and the list does not end. So, when we do something |
| purchase, people are addressing internal desires under | | | | luxurious, we know that we did it because we could. |
| their own terms via the Internet. With respect to | | | | |