When it comes to buying new luxury fashions, it is all about style and design, according to the latest survey among luxury fashion consumers from Unity Marketing.
“Sales of luxury fashions tumbled in the second quarter, down 25 percent, compared to strong sales in the first quarter this year,” said Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing. The fashion consumer is first and foremost interested in choosing styles and designs suitable for her figure and lifestyle, said the study. Some 61 percent of luxury fashion shoppers rated style and design very important in influencing their most recent purchases.
The next most important factor is good value for the price, rated very important by 54 percent of luxury fashion buyers. “Today’s luxury consumer is extremely value-conscious, looking to get the maximum value for her fashion dollar. Hardly cheap, she is perfectly willing to spend big bucks on fashion that provides real value, but she is not willing to spend on fashion that doesn’t reflect superior quality in materials and workmanship or careful attention to details that she prizes. Designers and retailers need to design for this highly discerning, value-driven consumer,” Danziger explained.
Shopping in a store that the luxury consumer knows and trusts is the third most important factor, rated very important by half of the luxury fashion shoppers. The store ranks ahead of the brand or designer, very important according to 47 percent of buyers. “This finding highlights the critical role store merchandisers and buyers play in the fashion business. The buyers need to know their customer, understand her needs and carefully select those brands that match the shopper profile,” Danziger said.
Rounding out the list of the most influential factors in luxury fashion shopping is finding the fashions she wants on sale or at a discount, rated very important by 45 percent. “Shoppers will pay full price for the most current fashions that represent the ultimate value, but they also value buying last season’s designs for less. The fact is a sizeable percentage of shoppers, even affluent ones, rarely pay full price for anything. They simply don’t have to because they know where to find the best deals,” Danziger explained.
In luxury fashion, the study also said advertising doesn’t count for much; among those factors that least influenced fashion shoppers in their most recent purchases were exclusivity (rated very important by only 20 percent); recommendations of friends (18 percent); internet research (12 percent); articles and reviews (11 percent); and advertising (9 percent).
The full results of Unity Marketing’s survey are published in the Luxury Tracking Study 2Q2006: Luxury Purchase Motivations and Influences on Purchase (www.unitymarketingonline.com/reports2/luxury/luxury2Q2006.html).
