Psychology of Luxury Goods Consumer

This paper investigates the psychological motivations of consumers of luxury goods, using the example of an unrepresentative sample of students from the Marketing School in the Bucharest University of Economic Studies. The objectives aim to identify the motivational elements of consumer of luxury goods, to correlate these reasons with the values represented by luxury products, and to exemplify the psychological factors determining the preference for luxury goods. The research hypotheses are: H1. Luxury goods consumption is associated with successful people; H2. Main psychological factors that determine the consumption of luxury products are related to the need of affiliation, recognition and appreciation, and values that are associated with luxury products are compliance, the need for uniqueness, social status and vanity. The study is divided into two parts. The first part is dedicated to an extensive literature review. Some of the most common psychological theories which underline consumer behavior and theoretical aspects of luxury products and their market will be presented. In the second part, the paper presents the methodological approach and the findings. Direct research covered a qualitative research, exploratory, based on two focus groups. Conclusions of this paper are consistent with the literature, meaning that luxury products are associated with success, satisfying needs of social integration, and membership of groups perceived as elitist, consumer ethnocentrism, and vanity.