A growing list of 'cheap chic' marketers - Target, Kohls, Payless, TJ Maxx, and H&M - are scoring big not just with the 'trading up' budget-conscious consumers, but also with affluent shoppers who have fat wallets but think it is smart to get look-alike styles for less.
A trend toward anti-status shopping is growing rapidly among luxury consumers, according to the results of a new research investigation by Unity Marketing among 1,036 luxury consumers (average income $156.5k and average age 42.8 years). The anti-status shopper rejects the idea that the brands you wear, the car you drive, the way you decorate your home gives you some kind of elevated social status or prestige. They are driven to get value for their money, rather than to make an impression on others according to how much money they spent.
"The growth trajectory of many traditional status symbol luxury brands is threatened by this growing consumer trend toward anti-status," says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience.
"Roughly 40 percent of luxury consumers today express an anti-status point of view. The problem for status symbol luxury brands with this emerging anti-status trend is that anti-status consumers spend significantly less than status-seeking consumers when they shop for luxury."

Unity Marketing Research Studies

Browse Unity Marketing market research studies by category:

Consumer Insight Studies
Future Vision CEO's Summary
Industry Market Studies
Luxury Business Newsletter
Tracking Studies

About Unity Marketing

Unity Marketing publishes market research and consumer insight studies on the luxury market, jewelry, garden, pet accessories, home furnishings, gifts and collectibles, greeting card and stationery, tabletop, art and wall décor markets, as well as the Luxury Business newsletter.