55% of consumers said that they make aspirational purchases, like buying designer items or expensive status symbols, less often now than they did just five years ago. And according to a report from NPD Group, the idea of aspirational brands is currently undergoing a major shift. Where consumers once were willing to stretch their budgets to make purchases based on status or style, many are now more concerned with practicality and saving money.
In Ask Your Target Market’s latest online survey, 15% of respondents said that they usually make aspirational purchases, such as designer items or other splurges, a few times per month. 16% said they do so a few times every three months. 33% said they make aspirational purchases a few times per year.
There are also many different categories where people might choose to make aspirational purchases. 56% of respondents said that they’d be willing to pay a bit extra to buy from a good brand when it comes to their tech purchases. 54% would pay a bit more for designer clothing and accessories. 38% look for quality home items. 37% said that they’ve made aspirational vehicle purchases. And 35% have bought jewelry as their aspirational purchases.
More generally, price and quality seem to be the most important determining factors for retail consumers[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]. 49% of shoppers ranked price as the most important factor when considering retail purchases.[/inlinetweet] 35% said that quality is most important to them. 5% said they care most about style and aesthetics. 4% look for useful features. Just 3% said they care most about brand name. 2% care more about the brand’s actual reputation. And 2% value convenience in their purchases.
Are luxury brands dead? Hardly, but it’s clear that today’s consumers are more interested in value than status and that could change the dynamics of some luxury brands from “status” to “performance” and “value”.
