Conspicuous and inconspicuous consumption of luxury goods in a digital world: insights, implications, and future research directions

AbstractLuxury brands are conduits of attractiveness, desirability, and status and their demand has not been impacted by economic recessions or calamities like the pandemic. Over the years, consumers have purchased luxury brands to engage in conspicuous consumption in order to demonstrate elite status and wealth. Recent research on luxury brands has also generated alternate forms of luxury consumption, notably inconspicuous consumption and inconspicuous minimalism. The digital era poses significant challenges and opportunities to luxury retailers. This article explores the various types of luxury consumption and the trends that exist in digital marketing which luxury advertisers can effectively leverage such as counterfeit brands, virtual reality, augmented reality, phygital, and luxury democratization. These strategies can help luxury advertisers prepare better for engaging customers, involving them throughout different stages of the purchase decision, and bolstering sales and revenues.Keywords: Luxury brandsconspicuous consumptioninconspicuous consumptioninconspicuous minimalismaugmented realityphygitalluxury democratization Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsAniruddha PangarkarAniruddha Pangarkar, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He holds a PhD degree in Marketing from Texas Tech University and an MBA degree from Thunderbird School of Global Management in the United States. In addition, he possesses 15 years of work experience in senior leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies in three different continents. He has published in leading journals, such as Journal of Business Research, International Journal of Advertising, and Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. Dr. Pangarkar serves on the Editorial Review Board of International Journal of Advertising and is an ad-hoc reviewer for Journal of Business Research, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, and Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. His research has been covered by popular media outlets such as International Business Times and Tech Times. He is currently co-editing a special issue on luxury and advertising for International Journal of Advertising and won the 'Best Track Chair' award at the Global Fashion Management Conference in Seoul, South Korea, in 2021. Dr. Pangarkar's research interests include a wide range of topics such as luxury consumption, minimalistic consumption, and the impact of product-harm crises on firms.Paurav ShuklaPaurav Shukla is Professor of Marketing at the University of Southampton, UK. He is one of the leading research scholars in the field of luxury branding and marketing with a particular interest in cross-cultural marketing, comparative consumer behavior, and marketing in emerging markets. Professor Shukla's career began in industry, and he continues to work hand in hand with industry as a researcher, practitioner, advisor and a board member. He has written widely in the areas of his research domain in top-tier journals including Journal of Business Research, Journal of International Marketing, Journal of World Business, Marketing Letters, Information & Management, International Marketing Review, Psychology & Marketing, Eating behaviors, among others. He has contributed chapters to edited books, case studies and popular accounts of his work have appeared in the Sunday Times, the Guardian, BBC, Woman's Wear Daily (the fashion bible), Luxury Society, Business Week, National Post of Canada and LiveMint Wall Street Journal, among others.