What characterises luxury products? A study across three product categories

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to test whether the attributes developed via qualitative or conceptual approaches link to the concept of luxury when measured using a quantitative approach. Given the critical role price has in the definition and identification of luxury products, this research measures whether the use of different attributes is exclusively associated with the highest price points in each category or whether there is some level of sharing with lower price points. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 431 respondents sociodemographically representative of the Australian population were screened for familiarity with the category and then randomly assigned to one of three product categories (wine, spirits and perfume). Best–worst scaling was used to measure the associations between different attributes and the concept of luxury, while the pick-any method was used to measure the association of different attributes to different price points. Findings – The findings are consistent across the three categories investigated, i.e. “premium quality”, “authentic/trustworthy brand” and “good brand reputation/status”, are much more associated with luxury than with regular brands. “Luxury”, “premium”, “antique/old vintage”, “limited production/edition” and “premium price” consistently cluster around the highest price point in each category, while the other attributes tested did not. Originality/value – Despite the plethora of research about attributes associated with the luxury concept, this is the first study attempting to measure the size of the association. The consistency of the results across the three product categories is encouraging in terms of the generalisability of the results for future research.

Luxury products for the circular economy? A case study of Bang & Olufsen

“…A high price is the most cited characteristic of luxury products (Heine & Phan, ). Keller () notes that a high price automatically relates to luxury products, whereas Sjostrom, Corsi, and Lockshin () note that luxury products are typically more expensive compared with nonluxury products. Dubois and Duquesne () refer to luxury products as expensive both in relative and absolute terms, and others argue that due to the high price, luxury products also need to have a premium level of quality or a high level of perceived quality (Phau & Prendergast, ; Sjostrom et al, ; Vigneron & Johnson, ).…”

“…Keller () notes that a high price automatically relates to luxury products, whereas Sjostrom, Corsi, and Lockshin () note that luxury products are typically more expensive compared with nonluxury products. Dubois and Duquesne () refer to luxury products as expensive both in relative and absolute terms, and others argue that due to the high price, luxury products also need to have a premium level of quality or a high level of perceived quality (Phau & Prendergast, ; Sjostrom et al, ; Vigneron & Johnson, ). Kapferer and Bastien () add that it is incorrect to state that all luxury implies being the most expensive, but a high price does add to the inaccessibility of the products, and thereby, they are automatically more attractive to buyers.…”

“…Rarity, scarcity, and exclusivity are other aspects that are typically associated with luxury products (Anido Freire, ; Ivan, Mukta, Sudeep, & Burak, ; Janssen, Vanhamme, Lindgreen, & Lefebvre, ; Phau & Prendergast, ; Sjostrom et al, ; Wiedmann, Hennigs, & Siebels, ). Rarity of a product can be caused by natural rarity, that is, limited availability of the raw materials, human expertise, or capacity constraints as for instance in the case of vintage wine or whiskey (Catry, ).…”

Self-Identity and Social Identity as Drivers of Consumers’ Purchase Intention Towards Luxury Fashion Goods and Willingness to Pay Premium Price

“…One of the characteristics of luxury products is price premium which is considered as a crucial factor for businesses to sustain in competitive markets (Anselmsson, Vestman Bondesson, & Johansson, 2014;Sjostrom, Corsi, & Lockshin, 2016). Price premium indicates the strength and the powerfulness of a brand when it remains stable overtime.…”

Sustainability integration in luxury fashion supply chains : An empirical investigation of leather and textiles in Italy

“…In this vein, luxury should not be conceptualized as a set of attributes or characteristics, and coordination must be ensured amongst functional, experiential and symbolic dimensions of luxury (Sjostrom et al, 2016). To this end, knowing that SC strategy must be renewed to ensure competitive advantage (Robinson and Hsieh, 2016), there must be a correlation between back-end synergies, consisting of cost management and efficient resource utilization, and front-end synergies, consisting of the brand portfolio and the maximisation of internal control of company-owned or company-controlled production and distribution channels.…”