A more precise understanding of luxury consumer behavior is the industry's dream, and research on the subject still needs to be improved. Once, luxury consumption was limited to a small, homogeneous elite. Nowadays, luxury goods are becoming more and more popular. And luxury consumers are becoming more sophisticated.

Luxury consumption has become more diverse, fragmented and complex. This makes understanding luxury consumption behavior more important than ever (Chandon, Laurent et al. 2016). Therefore, it is essential to more accurately define the composition of luxury consumers, what they consume, and how they consume it. The most important thing is to understand why they consume luxury goods.

Han, Nunes et al. (2010) re-identified four luxury consumption groups in their research:

1) Partricians: the unobtrusive aristocrats, commonly known as "old money";

2) Parvenus: Nouveau riche, new rich class;

3) Poseurs: people who use their wealth to dress themselves up;

4) Proletarians: The proletarians.

Ciornea, Pop et al. (2012) identified four other groups:

1) Excursionists: consumers who occasionally experience luxury goods

2) Materialists: Focus on tangible goods

3) Hedonists: Indulge yourself through service

4) Adventurers: high consumers of goods and services

These efforts are a good start. However, more specific insights are needed to properly understand luxury consumption. In this regard, several research findings deserve the attention of the industry. Roux, Tafani et al. (2017) studied the differences of gender values in luxury consumption; Schade, Hegner et al. (2016) compared the attitudes of different age groups towards luxury consumption.

To better understand luxury consumers, researchers need to conduct research on luxury consumption along various geographical, demographic, psychological and behavioral characteristics to make the research more specific.

Luxury consumption behaviors of high-end and mass consumers are relatively easy to study. The consumption behavior associated with these luxury consumers has been well studied. However, little is known about the luxury consumption characteristics and motivations of the wealthiest consumers, which is related to the lifestyle habits of these consumers. Given their busy schedules and desire for privacy, their luxury consumption characteristics and motivations are often difficult to identify and access.

Nevertheless, it is still crucial to understand the luxury spending of the elite, as there are more millionaires in the world than ever before, and therefore more high-end luxury consumers than ever before (Forbes 2015a). In the United States alone, the number of millionaires is expected to grow at a rate of 1,700 per day over the next few years (Fortune 2016).

Understanding the spending of the elite is important for foreseeing the future, because their behavior will eventually filter down to other segments of luxury consumption. Specific research in this area can help marketers predict future trends in the high-end, mass and even mass markets.

For example, despite its high price tag, Louis Vuitton has come to be seen as a secretarial brand, while elite consumers have begun to move to more obscure brands (Willett 2015).

Other luxury trends emanating from the elite are also worth studying.

One is that with the growth of informal atmosphere in society (Misztal 2002), luxury consumption style is gradually changing to leisure. Hard luxury categories such as watches and jewelry are declining, while casual luxury items such as jeans, sneakers, and down jackets have become a booming multi-billion dollar industry (Bain 2016). This shift is accompanied by the maturity of the luxury market, as well as the recognition of value among the higher classes, such as the shift from ostentatious to understated but highly sophisticated (Brooks 2004).
The new rich lack this kind of taste, and they want to impress people, so they still use luxury goods high and low. The new rich buy mainly on the basis of high price and brand recognition. As a result, an interesting psychological divide can be seen in the top luxury segment. This phenomenon once again highlights the need for more accurate consumer behavior research.

Another notable trend is cross-border luxury spending. Luxury consumption is not only about buying superior products, but also about experiencing the origin in the country of origin (Hedley 2007). This has led to the emergence of the luxury travel industry. A large (and growing) portion of global luxury sales can be traced back to international tourists (Bain 2016). Asians, especially the Chinese, are now looking to enhance their luxury experience by buying products from the source. This provides a sense of pilgrimage, and buying at the place of origin corresponds to a much higher social status than buying imported goods locally (Rambourg 2014).

There are several considerations in this luxury travel phenomenon. These could affect more traditional luxury consumption. Two issues of increasing importance are authenticity (Cheah, Zainol et al., 2016) and origin (Godey, Pederzoli et al., 2012). In addition, the company's strategic focus on culture-infused flagship products and consideration of the macro impact of luxury travel on local brands are worthy of deep consideration, and the study of other consumer behavior trends deserves further in-depth research.

Over the past 30 years, a great deal of knowledge about luxury brands has developed. However, given the breadth and generality of the field, empirical results and theory remain difficult to reconcile. Especially in the absence of a unified theory of basic luxury brand concepts (Muller-Stewens and Berghaus 2014). Therefore, people working in the luxury industry should no longer recognize luxury brands in general. Instead, they should try to understand the nuances between luxury brands and examine the essence of luxury brands; Understand the different levels and perspectives of luxury brands; Learn about different products and different consumers. Research on luxury brands still has a long way to go.

TAG: Luxury Services, Luxury Consumer Behavior Research, Luxury Marketing, Luxury Brand Management, Luxury Brand Management, cross-border luxury consumption, Luxury Hierarchy, Luxury Essence, Luxury Culture, Luxury BLI Index