A Qualitative Research on The Changing Perceptions of Luxury Consumption in The Construction of Self

Abstract

This work studies how the luxury experiences and perceptions of consumers are. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the modern luxury consumption experiences from a wider perspective rather than focusing on the traditional luxury consumption as a signifier of social status. The study adopts an interpretative and exploratory approach to explain in detail the contribution of the luxury consumption of consumers to the construction of self. Among the qualitative research methods, the method of keeping a diary, which sincerely transmits the processes, relations and perceptions in the daily world of the consumers was applied to the study [1]. The consumer diaries enable a ground to understand the complex structure of luxury experiences as a loop of luxury which is an indispensable part of the daily life of consumers. To achieve maximum diversity 16 participants from different age, occupation and education fields are selected. The consumer diaries are analyzed by using the inductive categorization process [2] and constant comparative method [3]. The research results are classified the luxury experiences under three categories indispensably related with processes and conditions of the self. The findings of the work are related with the present theories on self yet they pose a transition from vanity consumption, to which the perception of luxury bases, to temporary and abstract concept of consumption.