What Drives Asia Pacific’s Affluent in Making Luxury Purchase Decisions?

According to the Visa Affluent Study 2015, goods and experiences that provide a sense of status, exclusivity and uniqueness are key considerations when shopping for luxury items for Asia Pacific’s elite.

According to the study, a percentage of affluent people in Asia Pacific describe themselves as “status seekers”, with more than one third in China (38%), Hong Kong (36%) and Korea and Japan (31% each) motivated to purchase luxury goods to display their social standing.

Affluent people in India (29%) and in Singapore (27%) also report taking pleasure in the attention that luxury brands attract.

“What drives Asia Pacific’s affluent in making luxury purchase decisions varies across the region, but the common factor is the search for unique products and services that give a sense of status and exclusivity,” said Ruben Salazar, Vice President, Products, Visa Asia Pacific. “While quality remains important for most consumers, Asia Pacific’s affluent are continuously looking to go beyond quality guarantee to find that special product or experience that stands out from the crowd and that gives a sense of self-satisfaction.”

Only the affluent from Indonesia and Australia described themselves as being more driven by other considerations, with almost a quarter of Indonesian affluent (23%) surveyed also valuing quality alongside social status (24%) and exclusivity (28%), while almost one third of the Australian affluent in the study (27%) report wanting to gain a sense of fulfillment from ownership of unique products and experiences, saying that purchasing luxury goods makes them feel good about themselves and gives them self-satisfaction.

The importance of achieving a sense of “self-satisfaction” or fulfillment through the purchase of luxury goods and services was also reported to be high among the affluent surveyed in Japan (22%) and Singapore (19%).

Overall, product quality ranked at mid or low levels in the study, with Singapore (15%), India (15%) and China affluent (5%) identifying quality and durability of products as key considerations when purchasing luxury items, compared to the reported importance of status (38%) among the Chinese affluent surveyed.

According to the study, top spending categories reported for Asia Pacific Affluent “status seekers” include designer items, luxury weekend holidays, fine dining, and home entertainment. Asia Pacific affluent who ranked experience and the uniqueness of products as key motivators in making luxury purchases list family holidays and fine dining as key spending categories.

Visa Asia Pacific Affluent Study 2015

The Visa Asia Pacific Affluent Study 2015 was commissioned by Visa and conducted by TNS in November and December 2014.

500 respondents from each market - Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea were interviewed in online and face-to-face surveys.

Respondents had an average household income of US$ 73,000 per annum and were aged between 18 and 55 years old.