A Wren Says

You’ve come into some money. You’ve finally got that career of your dreams. Now you can finally buy that luxury bag that has been on your wish list. Something that screams, “Mama, I’ve made it.” Is it the monogram Louis Vuitton? The Chanel flap? The Goyard tote, perhaps?

Based on some research from Han, Nunes, and Drèze in 2010 detailing four types of luxury consumers, you might fall into the category of the Parvenues. It’s a group of consumers of means who are more likely to lean into loud rather than quiet luxury.

In this series I’m breaking down this study and the groups. The previous posting was about Patricians, wealthy clientele who err towards what is known as quiet luxury. That is products where the branding is less obvious to most consumers, but well understood by select few. Patricians, at least theoretically, lean into quiet luxury as these markers help them establish rapport with their peers who are also in the know.

On the other side of the highest earners are the Parvenues. They also have significant wealth, but they are not as aware of the subtle signals of luxury products. Instead, they rely on more conspicuous branding to help them establish their status. The signals, a.k.a. brand or product recognition, help connect them with other wealthy luxury consumers while distancing them from lower classes unable to buy into luxury.

The authors devised a study to test their prediction that those who would be classified as Parvenus (and the poseurs we’ll cover in a later post) would be more likely to prefer loud, conspicuous branding.  Using zip code, income, and responses to a need for status scale, they classified participants into four groups based on income and need for status.

They also developed descriptions of profiles that were written to represent each of the four consumer groups. Respondents were asked to how they identified with or chose to distance themselves from each of the groups. Afterwards, they were asked to look at 3 sets of pictures, pairings of handbags with either quiet or loud branding. Then assuming both bags were the same price, they were to choose which one out of each pair they preferred. Those who were ranked high on the scale for need for status were more much more likely than to prefer loud luxury bags.

A person would be classified as a Parvenu if they had high income and a high need for status. That could be relatively nothing, but if you were a luxury brand, trying to make sales, you might pay attention. You might consider how to provide status markers through the design of your products. You might lean into logo heavy products to meet the demand of this consumer group.

Now, the Parvenus weren’t the only one who ranked high on the need for status and desire for louder labeling. The Poseur fit that category as well. But more on that group in tomorrow’s article.

You can more on the full article I referenced using the citation below.

Han, Y. J., Nunes, J. C., & Drèze, X. (2010). Signaling status with luxury goods: The role of brand prominence. Journal of Marketing, 7(July 2010), 15-30. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.74.4.015