You've heard of such segments as "The Influentials," "The Early Adopters" and "The Achievers. Well, now comes the "The Zealux," a new pop-culture handle for this hitherto
undiscovered group of affluent consumers that approaches shopping with zeal.
"The Luxury Experience," a Time Inc. and American Express Publishing survey of the luxury market, has discovered this segment, which holds great appeal for PR pros. Grouped
together based on strong attitudes toward luxury products and services, they are "driven by individuality and inspiration," says the report, and "significantly more likely to
prefer products that are distinctive and suit their personality."
Caryn Klein, advertising research director at Time Inc., says, "We went into the study trying to see if there were a significant change in the behavior of the different
wealth segments. We really thought that they'd act differently based on how much money they had. But what surprised us was that when we asked them about their different attitudes
about purchasing, there were similarities across all groups."
The report studied more than 2,100 respondents based on their investable assets and actual luxury-goods purchases. It also examined the differences and similarities between
three mutually exclusive groups -- millionaires, achievers and aspirers -- and it uncovered attitudes specific to each group. "The Zealux" were spread across all wealth segments
and age groups, but they bought across more categories and spend almost 50% more on their luxury purchases.
Other key findings:
- 90% of luxury consumers believe in spending time to find the right product or service.
- Women buy more individual luxury items while men spend more on each item, but purchase fewer.
- Those younger than 35 purchase more luxury goods than those in each of the other two age groups (35-49 and 50+).
The report, part of Time Inc. and Amex's "Luxury Portfolio," which delivers 18 magazines across, including Travel + Leisure and Food & Wine, aims to help
advertisers understand how consumers purchase products. "After analyzing it for weeks, we saw the emergence of this key group that hadn't before been identified," Klein says.
She adds, "When luxury consumers are looking for a product, marketers need to provide them with the correct mix of a rational and emotional message when marketing the
product. Yes, they need to provide information on quality and craftsmanship but they also need to address the emotional factor." Similarly, with PR, "if you represent a luxury
marketer you need to address the target consumers with that same mix."
Contact: Liz Marsh, 212.382.5684