You play pretend. In years past, you would have strolled through Canal Street looking for a deal. Now you sit in the comfort of your own home ordering counterfeit bags online. Why would you pay full price for this? Really you just want to look like you can afford that bag. You don’t have actually own it. You are a Poseur.
I don’t mean any harm by that. I’m just going through the four luxury consumer types as proposed by Han, Nunes, and Drèze from 2010. Today, we’ll focus on the Poseur. This category is of people who are of modest means, but they want to associate with wealthier classes. In their article, this group of people is characterized by their status driven consumption. And they won’t let their inability to afford authentic luxury stop them. Of the four groups, they are the most likely to purchase counterfeit goods.
There is a reason why dupe culture is so big. Brands know that we want the thing, can’t afford the things, and then try and find cheaper alternatives for that thing. There is a middle market to satisfy the needs of consumers who can’t afford luxury. Sometimes that leads infringing on trademarks. And sometimes that turns into a Wirkin.
Buying a bag, or car or boat or really anything for that matter, can sometimes turn into something bigger. It can reveal what we think about ourselves and hope the world thinks about us, too. But what does it mean if that handbag is a fake? Does it mean that we are, too?
You can access the full article that 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
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