A close examination of the model indicates that consumer evaluation of
luxury goods purchases and use takes place mainly on the Input and Process
stages. This is because of the highly aesthetic and symbolic nature of luxury
brands. This fact does not, however, mean that the Output stage is irrelevant,
but the elements of the Output stage feature on a minimal level.
Who is the luxury fashion consumer?
Consumers drive the luxury fashion sector. Any luxury brand that aims to
succeed in the increasingly competitive luxury market environment needs
to understand everything about the luxury consumer. And there’s a lot to
understand!
When we say ‘luxury consumer’, we don’t mean only female fashion
victims whose purses are stashed with endless cash and unlimited credit
cards. Although women are highly influential in luxury buying decisions and
constitute a large proportion of the luxury consumer market, men and chil-
dren are also important luxury consumers.
Today’s luxury consumer is different from the wealthy consumer of the
past. Unlike in the past when wealthy consumers were easy to understand and
satisfy, it is difficult to place the current luxury consumers in a box of defi-
nite descriptive characteristics. As one luxury brand manager rightly said,
today’s luxury consumer cannot be segmented. This is because the luxury
consumer has evolved beyond the ‘head-to-toe designer-clad single-brand
loyalist’ to a smart and savvy discerning consumer.
The current luxury consumer is highly sophisticated and brand literate.
They are fashionable and aware of their tastes and preferences. Their choices
of luxury products are based more on an understanding of their own style
needs and less on the ‘brand-name’ factor. They also have an attitude that is
a personification of youth, assertion and adventure, irrespective of their age.
This attitude is reflected in the fact that today’s parents and their children
dress alike. Also older consumers can now look years younger through
advanced cosmetics, giving them the freedom to appear like youths. The
consumer market has consequently become loosened and diluted. For exam-
ple, consumers of all ages including those in their forties, fifties and sixties,
can be found at the payment queue for roller blades at Decathlon in Paris.
Also the fitness and well-being craze now means that grandmothers, mothers
and daughters can be found wearing the same clothes and accessories, and
shopping in the same stores. These factors make understanding today’s luxury
consumer imperative and is responsible for the current huge market of Trend
Trackers and Analysts.
The following characteristics provide an overview of the current luxury
consumer’s personality. These attributes only give an inclination of what to
expect from the current luxury consumers and is by no way a definitive list;
chapter 3 65the luxury fashion consumer