Luxury Goods Consumption Motivation Research:a Cross-cultural Exploratory Study In China And France

With the rapid development of Chinese economics and the improvement of living standard, people’s consume motivation are different from that before the reform and opening. Chinese luxury fever appears strong effect. According to the research of Glodman Sachs, Chinese has already become the second largest luxury goods consuming country in the world, making the contribution of nearly25%for the total sales amount of the global luxury goods trade. Although the data widely spread on the internet might be deviated and exaggerated to some extent, the scale of luxury goods market in China is yet to be defined and further verified, it is undeniable the development trend and potentiality in Chinese consumer market of luxury goods is enormous. French have formed a kind of rational, ripe attitude on luxury goods. Such an attitude is worth learning for some luxury goods "enthusiasts" appearing in recent years in China. Compared with Western mature market of luxury consumption, Chinese market has its distinctions.In view of this trend, deeply analysis on consumer behavior in Chinese market has been launched and Comparative analysis is applied in the consumer motivation on luxury goods in Chinese market and developed, mature market in France. Normatively analyze how European luxury brand management strategy permeates in consumer’s emotion and demand, which have directive significance for creating Chinese native brands.After a delicate literature review and focus group discussion, this paper introduces nine major luxury consumer motivations in two general consumer motivations:interdependent-self (Conspicuous, Symbol, Snob, Band-wagon and Social) and independent self (Quality Assurance, Self-directed Pleasure, Self-gift Giving and Congruity with inner self) consumer motivations. With the help of survey and relevant statistic software, The paper revealed that Chinese consumers’ primary motivations are Conspicuous motivation, Symbol motivation, Social motivation, Quality Assurance motivation, Self-directed Pleasure motivation, Congruity with inner self motivation, and French consumers’motivation are Snob motivation, Quality Assurance motivation, Self-directed Pleasure motivation, Congruity with inner self motivation. The research also finds that gender, age and education are relative to the motivations noticeable.Since the research finds the main motivation of Chinese luxury goods consumers are conspicuous motivation, Symbol motivation, the luxury operating companies have to highlight the wealth value of luxury goods, and launch those products categories reflecting difference between social hierarchies when promoting. From this prospective, luxury goods companies can create scarcity and noble sense which are different from common goods with limited production, appropriate price, limited sales channels, as well as the selective medium of publicity.