Are you a luxury shopper?
There are three types, according to experts I interviewed. Accessible, aspirational and ultra. Why does anybody care? They spend way more than bargain hunters.
Accessible shoppers buy at places like Macy's and Nordstrom. They will spend about $300 on a shopping spree and buy items like a Coach handbag, Cole Haan shoes or high end J.Crew apparel. Accessible shoppers have "traded up from mass retail" stores like Mervyns and Target. "There's a noticeably lower price point versus the aspirational customer who wants to participate in what we consider true luxury brands," said luxury consultant Suzanne Hader.
Aspirational shoppers will blow a wad - $600 to $10,000 - on a purse or item of clothing from a "true" luxury brand like Gucci or Channel, but only every other year. They shop at anywhere from Macy's to Neiman Marcus. When recession looms "this is the category that pulls back first," Hader said. "They like luxuries but want to keep their house and put their kids through school."
Ultra luxury shoppers spend...as much as they want. One expert I talked to said this tiny but coveted group of buyers has "unlimited resources." They shop at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus and buy jewelry from top labels like Harry Winston and Van Cleef & Arpels, tropical mansions and zippy sports cars. "The true affluent person with a multi-million dollar income they are going to be willing to pay for that (quality)," said Judith Murphy, associate publisher for the American Express magazines Departures and Black Ink. "They don't want to be part of the mass luxury group."
As the Bargain Hunter, I try to live cheaply. I pack my lunch most weekdays, I avoid buying clothes at full price, and I save a chunk of my paycheck. But there are certain items I don't hesitate to splurge on, such as comfortable leather shoes and an occasional massage. That makes me an "accessible" luxury customer who has traded up from mass-market retailers such as Mervyns and Target, experts say.
But with dark clouds covering the economic horizon, I'm considering scaling back my bigger-ticket items and sticking to blue-light specials. That scares retailers that cater to low-end luxury customers like yours truly. (Ultra-luxury retailers that sell to the top 4 percent couldn't care less, but more on that later...
