Buyer Psychology and Behavior behind Luxury Consumption

Luxury goods, often known as non-essentials of life, are described as “a form of consumer products having distinctive, or uncommon features outside the limits of people’s life and needs.” Scientists believe that attitudes and beliefs have a direct connection to an individual’s behavior whether we are conscious of the connection or not. Attitudes are the result of the interaction of cognitive and emotional elements, and those attitudes are connected to certain behaviors. This leads to the conclusion that a brand has a better chance of influencing an associated behavior if they can sway attitudes in a certain direction.

The first step in the purchase

The first step in the purchase decision process is need/desire recognition. When it comes to luxury and luxury consumption how a brand is perceived is everything. Since studies have demonstrated that luxury purchases cause the release of dopamine, these purchases are considered hedonistic since individuals will buy them to make themselves or others feel good. This particular characteristic fulfills the desire portion of the first step in purchase decision process, people desire to purchase the luxury item in for satisfaction. The need portion of this step is satisfied by the psychological process behind buying a luxury good, which is the ultimate need for uniqueness. The “uniqueness theory” contends that people tend to desire to stand out from others and will make an effort to do so. Luxury brands appeal to many people since they serve as symbol of their uniqueness.

To understand the consumers psychology and behavior behind luxury purchasing its important to consider many factors. Some might say that the purchase decision process for a luxury item is trickier since these are not products that are essential to our life. The fact that these are non-essential items is what makes it more challenging to market, how can we convince the consumer to buy a Porsche car instead of a non-luxury one. This all comes down to the attitudes and beliefs each individual has toward luxury. This is why marketers for luxury brands use the advantage of uniqueness, exclusivity, quality, status, and power in order to appeal to their target consumer

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