3 DEFINING LUXURY FROM A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE Secrets You Never Knew
What is luxury?
With clear distinctions between social classes in early civilizations, luxury consumption was exclusive to the elite.
This is one of those big questions that has been posed many times but never fully answered.
It was my answer that luxury is a state of mind. It is about how you carry yourself and fulfil the wishes of others as well as yourself.
My thinking is focused on the subject of luxury from the point of view of self and society. One does not have a luxury just for its own sake but it is a socially useful utility. For example, why do we wear fancy suits when going to strategic meetings or interviews? Why do we say that we do not use substandard perfume while going on a date? The aspect of self-consumption is furnished with socially intended purposes, whereas it is a luxury.
The concept of luxury has existed in various forms since the beginning of civilization. It was intended to be as much a key to the old Western and Eastern empires as it is to the present-day market. With clear distinctions between social classes in early civilizations, luxury consumption was exclusive to the elite. This means that the definition of luxury was very clear. What the poor could not have and what the elite could afford were held up as luxuries.
With the accelerated democratization, various new product categories were created within the luxury market which were aptly labelled as accessible luxury or masseur luxury. This type of luxury is specifically aimed at the bourgeoisie. As luxury spread to the masses, it became increasingly difficult to define luxury.
In contemporary marketing usage, Professor Bernard Dubois defines luxury as offering a unique (i.e. high-value) grade in almost any product or service category. However, despite a significant body of knowledge accumulated over the past few decades, analysts have yet to arrive at a standard definition of luxury.
Although the term luxury is used in everyday life to denote certain lifestyles, the underlying concept definition is client and situation specific. The word luxury is derived from the Latin word luxus meaning soft or lavish living, indulgence, elegance or opulence. However, the term luxury is quite difficult to define due to the significant involvement of human factors and value recognition from the society.
Various other attempts have been made to define luxury using a value-price dimension, with high priced products in any category being luxuries. Similarly, academics have also explored the exclusivity aspects of luxury. Nevertheless, with the progressive quality preference over accessible brands and the democratization of luxury, it is difficult to use any of the above dimensions to create a precise definition of luxury.
Katerere and Bastian, use an empirical approach and define luxury as something that pleases all the senses at the same time and gives additional pleasure. Many other academics focus on specific wealth and argue that luxury creates a sense of belonging to a certain select group. Still, having an LVMH handbag in the heart of any major metropolis around the world won't make you feel like you've got it.
The above debate highlights the highly subjective and multidimensional nature of the concept of luxury. Efforts broadly define a dimension of luxury such as high value, high quality, exclusivity, exclusivity, etc.
However, as the article shows, it is not clear to all of us what can be clearly characterized as a luxury?
So, I ask, what do you identify as luxury?
