16 December 2008 - By Karen W. Escalera
Poor millionaires. "The era of conspicuous consumption, at least for the foreseeable future, has come to a close," says "Why We Buy" author Paco Underhill. Consumption will still happen. It's just not going to be as public." In one striking example, relayed by Underhill to the New York Times, an Audi S4 buyer, before taking possession of the German luxury car, asked that the nameplate be removed. I predict a growing embrace of unbranded, but premium, products appealing to consumers' pragmatic side. In practical terms, although the affluent may not actually be poor because of the recession, psychologically, they may feel poorer. Suddenly it's chic to mention shopping at consignment stores and sample sales while trolling for low prices on eBay. Recessionistas and frugalistas are taking the place of yesterday's fashionistas. Affluents are feeling compelled to search for value and deals: keywords for today's times.
Anti-trends. Fashion trends imposed from the top down are becoming yesteryear's phenomenon. Even labeling products "trendy" may well be a death knell. By the time the mainstream learns that something is "hot," it will have already been replaced. Armed with unlimited information from the Internet, blogs and other forums, consumers are less likely to follow marketplace dictums and more likely to be inspired by peers from around the world.
Poor millionaires. "The era of conspicuous consumption, at least for the foreseeable future, has come to a close," says "Why We Buy" author Paco Underhill. Consumption will still happen. It's just not going to be as public." In one striking example, relayed by Underhill to the New York Times, an Audi S4 buyer, before taking possession of the German luxury car, asked that the nameplate be removed. I predict a growing embrace of unbranded, but premium, products appealing to consumers' pragmatic side. In practical terms, although the affluent may not actually be poor because of the recession, psychologically, they may feel poorer. Suddenly it's chic to mention shopping at consignment stores and sample sales while trolling for low prices on eBay. Recessionistas and frugalistas are taking the place of yesterday's fashionistas. Affluents are feeling compelled to search for value and deals: keywords for today's times.
Anti-trends. Fashion trends imposed from the top down are becoming yesteryear's phenomenon. Even labeling products "trendy" may well be a death knell. By the time the mainstream learns that something is "hot," it will have already been replaced. Armed with unlimited information from the Internet, blogs and other forums, consumers are less likely to follow marketplace dictums and more likely to be inspired by peers from around the world.
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