Luxury brand consumption in emerging economies: review and implications

The market for luxury brands has been growing rapidly in emerging economies over the past decade; yet, there are salient gaps in our knowledge. This chapter traces the socio-institutional forces that have given rise to the current market landscape in emerging economies. It then examines the literature on luxury brand consumption and delineates the personal motivations (e.g., achievement celebration, identity affirmation), social motivations (e.g., self-expression, image enhancement) and cultural theories (e.g., face-saving, family-pride) relevant to emerging economy consumers’ motives for luxury brand consumption. Using Chinese consumers as the point of departure and supplementing the conceptualization with insights from studies on Russian and Indian consumers, the chapter identifies four distinct groups of luxury brand consumers: global materialists, millennials, nostalgic compensators, and Tuhao consumers. The four groups are purported to emphasize intrinsic versus extrinsic motivations, and carry a present-to-future versus a past-to-present temporal orientation. The research and managerial implications are discussed.