What characterises luxury products? A study across three product categories
International Journal of Wine Business Research
ISSN: 1751-1062
Article publication date: 14 March 2016
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to test whether the attributes developed via qualitative or conceptual approaches link to the concept of luxury when measured using a quantitative approach. Given the critical role price has in the definition and identification of luxury products, this research measures whether the use of different attributes is exclusively associated with the highest price points in each category or whether there is some level of sharing with lower price points.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 431 respondents sociodemographically representative of the Australian population were screened for familiarity with the category and then randomly assigned to one of three product categories (wine, spirits and perfume). Best–worst scaling was used to measure the associations between different attributes and the concept of luxury, while the pick-any method was used to measure the association of different attributes to different price points.
Findings
The findings are consistent across the three categories investigated, i.e. “premium quality”, “authentic/trustworthy brand” and “good brand reputation/status”, are much more associated with luxury than with regular brands. “Luxury”, “premium”, “antique/old vintage”, “limited production/edition” and “premium price” consistently cluster around the highest price point in each category, while the other attributes tested did not.
Originality/value
Despite the plethora of research about attributes associated with the luxury concept, this is the first study attempting to measure the size of the association. The consistency of the results across the three product categories is encouraging in terms of the generalisability of the results for future research.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Australian Grape & Wine Authority (AGWA) for funding this research. The paper is the result of the joint effort of the authors. However, Ms Therese Sjostrom is responsible for Sections 2.1, 2.1.1, 4.1, 4.2 and 6; Dr Armando Maria Corsi is responsible for Sections 1, 2.2. and 2.3, while Sections 3 and 5 have been written together.
Citation
Sjostrom, T., Corsi, A.M. and Lockshin, L. (2016), "What characterises luxury products? A study across three product categories", International Journal of Wine Business Research, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 76-95. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWBR-05-2015-0017
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited