A study of the consumer decision making process for purchase of luxury good

Abstract

Luxury market in India is in a nascent stage and the industry experts see huge potential for luxury brands in Indian market in the future. It is important for the brands to attract new customers and even more make the existing customers brand loyal. This paper aims to study the decision making process in terms of attitudes of the customers, their motivation for purchase etc. specifically in the Indian context, and then to provide necessary recommendations for the luxury brands in India in terms of their target segments and positioning. The paper theorizes that there are 4 important dimensions which affect the luxury consumption patter: financial dimension, functional dimension, individual dimension and social dimension. The customers of luxury segment can be broadly classified into two, the affluent and the excursionists. While the affluent, who are the traditionally rich people look for functional and individual dimensions, the excursionist care about the social and financial dimension. Variables inside each of these dimensions have also been identified.