A Society Judging People by Luxury Goods... Increased Purchases Among University Students and Young Professionals

First Luxury Purchases Occur During College and Early Career Stages
"Buying for Self-Satisfaction and Enjoyment"
"Seen as Pretentious and Luxurious," Respondents Say

With the popularization of luxury goods, the age group first encountering luxury items is gradually getting younger. However, negative perceptions of wearing luxury goods still persist.

The appropriate age for purchasing luxury goods is in the 30s and 40s, but... "The first time encountering luxury goods is as a university student or a young professional"

Gucci's Korea Exclusive Interlocking G Cotton T-shirt sold for 890,000 won
[Photo by Gucci]

On the 15th, market research firm Embrain Trend Monitor conducted the '2023 Luxury Goods Consumption Perception Survey' targeting 1,000 adults aged 19 to 59 nationwide. The results showed that the age at which people first encounter luxury goods is getting younger.

First, the appropriate age for purchasing luxury goods was mainly identified as people in their 30s (37.2%, multiple responses allowed) and 40s (49.5%), who generally have some level of economic income. However, the response that purchasing luxury goods is not related to age (22.9%) slightly increased compared to a previous survey (18.0%, 2016).

In fact, the proportion of respondents who said they first encountered luxury goods as university students (35.8%) and young professionals in their 20s (45.6%) was high, confirming that even younger age groups, who are perceived to have less purchasing power, are not finding it difficult to buy and own luxury goods.

"Buying luxury goods for self-satisfaction," but... "People wearing luxury goods are seen as extravagant"

As public consumers' perceptions of luxury goods diversify, the tendency to evaluate a person's social status based on 'luxury brands' appears to be decreasing.

The response that a person's status looks different depending on which brand they wear (44.3%) slightly decreased compared to the previous survey (51.0%). Also, the attitude that the brand one uses shows their social status (34.4%) was notably lower than in the previous survey (42.0%).

Furthermore, half of all respondents (50.0%) agreed that "purchasing luxury goods is not to show off to others but for one's own satisfaction and enjoyment."

However, 8 out of 10 respondents (77.6%) said they would prefer to buy products from famous brands if the price is the same.

More than half of respondents expressed the perception that if they were to purchase luxury goods in the future, they would want the brand to be widely recognized (55.2%) and that a luxury brand should be famous enough for everyone to know (51.1%).

Negative evaluations of people wearing luxury goods still remained.

People wearing luxury goods were often perceived as having high social status, such as being from wealthy families (50.4%) or being financially well-off (48.5%).

Additionally, many people associated wearing luxury goods with negative images such as showing off (56.1%), being extravagant (51.8%), and being pretentious.

Many people place value on luxury goods themselves... among which 'design' is the key factor

The response rate was also high (57.9%) for those who place value on luxury goods themselves rather than famous brands. Preferences for luxury goods with interesting stories (49.1%) and heritage luxury goods that are more affordable than classic luxury items (47.5%) were also observed.

In particular, 75.5% responded that no matter how luxurious the item is, if the design is poor, it loses its meaning as a luxury good, indicating that 'design' acts as a core element of luxury goods.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.