Emerging Consumer Culture in Advanced Society : Cross Cultural Studies of Luxury Consumption

奢侈品对消费者意味着什么？我们通过对美国、日本和中国消费者的详细采访来探讨这个问题，这有助于我们识别奢侈品的几个维度。文献表明，奢侈品的概念不仅有一个定义，而且在不同的人口群体和历史时期都有不同的定义。然而，我们发现，奢侈品是一个不可或缺的，同时也是一个复杂的概念，人类通过它来获得生活的满足。奢侈品有助于我们在社交网络中的地位。感知奢侈主要来源于稀有性和审美性，给我们带来慰借和身份强化。

What does luxury mean to consumers? We explored this question by conducting detailed interviews with the American, Japanese, and Chinese consumers, which helped us to identify several dimensions of luxury. The literature suggests that there is not just one definition for concept of luxury but that it differs among demographic groups and historical periods. However, we found that luxury is an indispensable and at the same time, complex concept by which human beings obtain satisfaction in life. Luxury contributes to the position we have within our social network. Perceived luxury basically derives from rarity and aestheticism, and bring us consolation and identity reinforcement.