“All the good and nothing less”: Consumption of Luxury Goods among the bottom of the pyramid

Abstract

The Brazilian middle class has undergone significant growth in recent years accounting for 52% of the population. Precisely because of this phenomenon, we became interested in this research that is focused on women living in Rio de Janeiro. Although there are many recent research in marketing about the consumer habits of this class, mainly due to the increase in their purchasing power, the particularities of the various groups within this large mass and how they behave in face of consumption expected from social elites, such as luxury goods was under explored. This research aims to contribute to a more detailed exploration on this population. In order to observe the production of knowledge and the process of identity construction of women surveyed, the theme was the consumption of luxury goods. Three categories are presented relevant: Luxury, Luxury at Day by Day and Dream and Consumption, which bring distinct and complementary information for a better understanding of the analyzed group. Although traditional theories about luxury present social status, differentiation and hedonism as main reasons for the consumption of these objects, other relevant aspects were observed for this type of consumer, the family being the great arena where most of the social and economic relations happen. The research also shows the development of a peculiar look to fashion by the study group being key to understanding what is luxury. The results of this study show the richness of practices and meanings of consumption within the same group and the importance of a qualitative look for academics and managers in the field of marketing to really understand the phenomena of consumption in modern societies, especially societies that are having a great social and economic development as Brazil.

Keywords

• Luxury goods
• Middle class
• Consumption
• Marketing.