Luxury Consumption Hopes To Return To Reason

In recent years, with the rapid growth of China's economy and the continuous increase of urban population, the personal disposable income of consumers has improved.

There is objective rationality in consumption.

The rapid growth of luxury consumption in China is the result of China's economic, social and cultural development. The material, cultural and psychological foundation of luxury goods is already available, and consumers' consumption of luxury goods is objective and reasonable.

Income continues to rise and lay the material foundation

Rapid economic growth is luxury.

The growth of residents' income drives the upgrading of consumption structure.

The average income of a country's resident population is more than 3000 US dollars, and the consumption structure of the society will undergo a comprehensive upgrading, changing from subsistence to development and enjoyment.

Our country not only has a per capita GDP of more than 3000 dollars, but also the per capita disposable income of urban residents has increased from 307 yuan in 1978 to 19109 yuan in 2010, an increase of 61.2 times.

In Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other first tier cities, the per capita income level is even as high as 30 thousand yuan.

The urban middle income and above strata constitute the representative mainstream consumer groups in China's cities and towns. They are in pition from well-off to affluent, from the quantity of consumption to the quality of consumption. They are the main force in upgrading the consumption structure of residents.

Among the affluent consumers, the pursuit of brand, quality and trend is gradually in line with international standards. Their living standard, consumption habit and consumption behavior are in keeping with international synchronization.

The rapid growth of luxury consumer market is also an important manifestation of China's residents' income growth and consumption structure upgrading.

Social stratification provides the social stratum foundation

The middle-income class has created a mass foundation for luxury consumption.

In the early days of reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping put forward "let some people get rich first and take the road of common prosperity".

Common prosperity has created the middle-income class in China. Most of them are engaged in mental labor, that is, non manual workers, who earn their living mainly by wages and salaries. They are generally well educated, possess professional knowledge and strong professional ability and corresponding family consumption ability; have a certain leisure time, pursue quality of life, earn middle or upper level income, and have certain fixed assets, have unique value grade, consumption pattern and life style, and think that they belong to the middle or upper middle class in social status and economic income.

Luxury goods cater to the consumption needs of the middle income class in terms of technology, function and emotion.

Luxury goods have three major characteristics. First, luxury products must be successful at the technological level, and have no defects in materials, workmanship or craft. Second, there are differences in technology, which make them more excellent in operation performance; third, the advantages of products in terms of technology and function must be combined with symbolic factors such as brand standards, company spirit, etc., so that they can resonate with consumers and become an important cultural factor in shaping middle-income class.

According to the survey, from 1955 to 1975, the Japanese "midstream consciousness" increased from 42.5% to 77%. For the middle class, local brands and American brands are not really high quality brands. Only expensive European brands are symbols of status. Even if they wear clothes and shrinks, they must have a European brand handbag or watch. Luxury goods will be regarded as identity cards.

Although the value of luxury goods purchased by the middle income class in China is not very large, the demand for luxury goods is also increasing with the motivation of showing off, leading, conformity and social interaction among the middle income class. The middle-income class has provided a huge consumer for luxury consumption.

According to the survey, in 2009, the average number of luxury goods purchased by residents in China was about 3.3. Among them, women were more than men. Consumers aged 25 to 34 and 35 to 50 years old were higher than those aged 15 to 24. At the same time, the number of luxury goods purchased by consumers increased with the increase of education level and family income level.

The high-income class has become a loyal supporter of luxury consumption.

Eastern consumer culture provides a cultural foundation

Asians' face saving culture boosts luxury consumption.

In terms of luxury goods, Japanese consumers can be among the largest consumers in the world.

The value of luxury goods in Japan is 15 billion to 20 billion dollars, second only to the United States.

In Japan, luxury goods usually represent a middle-class lifestyle rather than an upper class lifestyle.

In order to get designer's brand handbags and clothing, the middle class consumers save other expenses, such as giving up traveling or expensive dining out.

Luxury has become a symbol of economic success and social status. Luxury consumption has also become an important means to highlight identity.

Chinese consumers love face and Japan.

According to the World Luxury Association survey data, from March 2010 to March 2011, the consumption data of luxury goods in France, Italy and the UK were found to be more than 65%, and Chinese accounted for 75% of the total data.

Compared with Japanese consumers' preference for luxury goods, according to the survey, more than 7 of Chinese young consumers purchase luxury goods just to have a luxury brand, and brand culture is not important, so that more people know that it is luxury goods, the biggest selling point is "must be a recognized luxury in the circle".

In addition, in the country of ceremonies, consumers purchase luxury goods for another purpose.

According to a survey released by McKinsey, 50% of the luxury consumption in the Chinese market in 2009 is mainly composed of "gift demand".

Luxury goods are considered to be especially suitable for gifts by Chinese consumers. Luxuries are more expensive to express their respect for those who receive gifts, and also to show the status and ability of gifts.

Financial crisis creates growth opportunities

Chinese consumers take advantage of the financial crisis to sweep goods overseas.

Chinese luxury consumers have always preferred overseas shopping.

Due to the impact of the financial crisis in 2008, a large number of luxury discounts have been promoted, and many consumers are more sensitive to price. At the same time, foreign products are widely chosen. Therefore, overseas purchases are still popular.

According to statistics, luxury sales in the US market increased by 12% in 2010, 6% in Europe, 22% in Asia, and 30% in luxury sales in the mainland of China.

According to British media reports, Chinese tourists spend 1 billion pounds on the luxury sale of the UK in the 2010 discount sale season. The luxury goods such as Burberry, LV, Gucci and so on are expected to account for 1/3 of the UK luxury industry sales.

Luxury magnates are targeting the Chinese market.

So far, almost all the top brands in the world have branches in China, and flagship stores have sprung up.

While the luxury consumption of Chinese in overseas markets is hot, the share of domestic purchases is also increasing, reaching 40%.

On the one hand, impulsive buying behavior is greatly increased, and on the other hand, consumers' demand for premium local after-sales service has also been greatly improved.

The rapidly expanding Chinese luxury market has become a battleground for global luxury brands.

In 2009, when we entered the post financial crisis era, faced with the repeated atrophy of the old customers in the west, the most top sellers in the world saw the powerful power of "Chinese consumption" to rescue the market, and the world's top brands accelerated the pace of expanding the Chinese market.

Irrational factors of consumption fever

As China's luxury consumption is still in its initial stage, it still stays at a lower level of consumption in the various aspects of face consumption, rational consumption, quality consumption and moral consumption, and there are irrational factors in the phenomenon of luxury consumption.

Luxury consumers' younger age

Luxury consumers in China are younger than other countries.

The survey by the World Luxury Association shows that Chinese luxury consumers are 15 years younger than European luxury consumers, 25 years younger than the US.

The survey of luxury consumption in China shows that consumers account for more than half of the total monthly income of 10000 yuan, and their age ranges from 25 to 28 years old.

The speed of the younger generation of luxury consumers in China is even more surprising. From 2007 to 2010, the lowest age of the mainstream consumer group of Chinese luxury goods dropped from 35 to 25 years.

The average consumption expenditure of luxury goods in the world accounts for only 4% of the total personal wealth. However, some consumers in China, especially some young people, spend 40% or more on luxury consumption.

Compared with developed countries, China's consumers' mentality is not mature, vanity is greater than grade, and the connotation of luxury products, technology, brand culture and other luxury goods is not well understood.

Conspicuous consumption psychology is serious.

Flaunting is the main motivation for Chinese consumers to buy luxury goods.

As long as there is money, any consumer can get any commodity, which makes the difference between classes eliminated.

However, the status difference of social groups is manifested through style and fashion. The fashion consumption way led by luxury leads to the difference of potential class distinctions, forming a status group with different status and different lifestyles. Consumption determines to a certain extent the ownership of individuals.

Therefore, the consumption of luxury goods is not so much to obtain high quality consumer goods, but rather to satisfy the flaunting mentality.

At present, most of the luxury consumers in China are "flaunting them with famous brands". Luxury goods are regarded as a direct symbol of wealth and status.

In particular, the new rich class of society needs to show their economic strength and social status through luxury consumption, get the recognition of the society, and need to maintain and create a network of personal survival and development through ostentatious consumption.

Various reasons lead to a very serious psychological display of luxury consumption in China.

Promoting rational regression

Characteristics of knowledge stage promote rational regression

The consumption of luxury goods is a stage phenomenon in China's economic development.

Looking at the ups and downs of luxury consumption in the world, luxury consumption has a process from irrational growth to rational regression.

After experiencing the stage of sustained economic prosperity, the consumers' psychology of purchasing luxury goods has gradually changed, and from conspicuous consumption to rational consumption and scientific consumption stage.

The birthplace of luxury goods, France also left home to expand to the new market in the East. Under the baptism of luxury craze, Japan also learned to think calmly. Fast fashion consumer goods began to become popular in Japan; in the United States, luxury consumption also went to the advanced stage, and new luxury had quietly grabbed the market place.

When China has just entered the ranks of middle and upper income countries, luxury goods are beginning to be recognized by more consumers, and there are some irrational factors in luxury consumption.

But with the improvement of China's economic level and the increase of residents' income, China's consumers will gradually become rational about luxury consumption. Luxury consumption will return to the permitted scope of purchasing power, and consumer behavior will gradually be built on the basis of brand cultural identity.

At present, we should take many measures in terms of consumption culture and consumption policy, so as to promote the luxury fever in China to return to the rational category at an early date.

Advocating thrifty culture to prevent premature consumption

Consumption dissimilation, sign worship and other social problems reflected in luxury consumption can easily lead to premature consumption.

Precocious consumption refers to the fact that a country's economy is just getting rid of the traditional economic situation and is busy increasing consumption, making the proportion of consumption in the national income too large and keeping the investment rate at a low level. Premature consumption leads to the consumption level surpassing the productivity of the country, so that consumption as one of the three carriages is a drag on economic growth.

Many developing countries in the world have experienced premature consumption in the initial stage of economic take-off, thus falling into the trap of middle-income.

In order to avoid the trap of middle-income, we must use healthy consumer culture to amend the characteristics of luxury consumption in China.

For consumers who have purchasing power and pursue higher quality of life, we must satisfy these reasonable demands through various policy combinations.

For consumers who do not have the luxury purchasing power, we should encourage them to consume rationally, ease their negative emotions, and satisfy their consumption needs with better cost effective products.

At the same time, we must vigorously propagate the tradition of thrift and economizing on our resources in our traditional culture, advocate thrifty consumption, and guide consumers to reasonably arrange consumption expenditure according to their own income level so as to achieve moderate consumption.

Encouraging scientific consumption and promoting intergenerational balance

While meeting the consumer's material and cultural needs, we encourage scientific consumption.

The expansion of consumption strategy put forward by our country is not to expand all types of consumption, but to oppose extravagance and luxury, and to fully consider the carrying capacity of environmental resources in consumption.

In view of the irrational problems existing in the current luxury consumption fever, consumers should be encouraged to establish a rational consumption concept.

First, we should guide the society to form a reasonable relationship between savings and consumption from the perspective of social and economic welfare.

If the contemporary people consume too much and save too little, the economy will be in a state of serious dynamic imbalance. Accordingly, corresponding measures are taken to guide a reasonable proportional relationship between savings and consumption and promote the intergenerational balance of consumption growth.

Two, we should guide the harmonious coexistence of consumption and environment from the perspective of carrying capacity of environmental resources.

Luxury consumption consumes more resources and destroys resources and environment.

Although luxury consumption is a personal behavior, the social responsibility should be borne by the people of the society. The consumption of luxury goods should be limited to the carrying capacity of environmental resources in order to achieve the intergenerational balance of the use of natural resources.