Selling upscale when so many have scaled back

Here’s the story in a sentence: Be considerate in your marketing… because your consumer is being more considerate than ever, too, in the way they question how your product or service will add value to her/his life.

Like most marketers, purveyors of luxury are finding this a challenging time. The examples seem to be everywhere. Recently, Condé’ Nast announced the closure of Gourmet and Elegant Bride magazines, among other publications (see this recent story from the NY Times). In an already difficult magazine environment, perhaps few people were eager to window-shop for dining experiences they could no longer afford.

Neiman Marcus recently announced store closures and shorter hours (see this Marketing Daily report), and last month, the Luxury Institute released a survey indicating that the abundance of luxury goods on the market had turned them into a “commodity” (from another Marketing Daily story).

Maybe “lifestyles of the rich and famous” are no longer the aspiration they once were. Luxury, it seems, is not only further from reach for many consumers; it might also be less hip. Or maybe, people just won't buy luxury for the sake of luxury. (Maybe upscale buyers expect upscale value.)

CSS colleague Todd Storch sent me a heads-up on a recent special edition of the Wall Street Journal, titled, “Selling Luxury Goods in the Age of Abstinence.” Lucky for you, I found an online video summary of the story, available here (pre-roll commercial required):


To see the video site of origin, paste this URL into your browser: http://online.wsj.com/video/selling-luxury-goods-in-the-age-of-abstinence/7B6CC7EE-81FB-4842-98FA-CD2987712351.html

Implications: I, for one, do not believe the luxury sky is falling. I think expectations are changing. For the person who buys a fine bottle of Insignia wine—just like the person who buys store-brand canned vegetables—people are more closely scrutinizing the benefit they receive for each dollar spent. The dollar amounts might be different, but the Cadillac buyer will be judicious, prudent, deliberate, considerate… just like the buyer of a Chevy Cobalt.

Instead of simply saying, “This is the luxury you deserve,” purveyors of upscale goods are smart to get specific about how their product or service adds value to a buyer’s life.

Mike Anderson