What high-income consumers are now choosing instead of buying luxury goods

In an ever-evolving post-pandemic world, high-income consumers increasingly prefer unplanned high-end entertainment over luxury goods, according to researchers at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the University of Houston.

In a new study published in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, Ms. Mingjing Shin, associate professor at Hilton College, and her colleagues at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University found that an unplanned vacation, trip or trip enhances positive emotions and the feeling of “escaping reality”. Hospitality experts define a trip as an intense experience that allows people to temporarily leave daily life, routine and “recharge” in a pleasant environment.

“During the coronavirus, people stayed at home and naturally made a lot of impulse purchases, spending money on luxury items to cope with stress,” Ms Shin said. People had no other opportunity to “please themselves.” Now everything has changed dramatically. At the end of the coronavirus pandemic interest has shifted to unique experiences, including hotel and flight bookings “last minute”.

To better understand the difference between the influence of luxury goods and impressions on the human psyche, Ms. Shin and her colleagues studied the recent purchases of dozens of consumers in the US and Hong Kong. While impulsive purchases of items such as perfume and sunglasses provided consumers with some sense of satisfaction, researchers found that receiving experiences such as hotel stays and fine dining resulted in higher levels (and duration) of positive emotions.

According to Ms. Shin, while material goods please us for a certain (usually very short) period of time, experiences are intangible and belong to the “reserves” of long-term memories.

The need to “escape” has been a major driver of the post-coronavirus travel and tourism recovery.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, in 2021, 75% of hotel stays were booked three days or less in advance, and 48% were booked the same day. Domestic destinations were the first to recover, but as borders began to reopen, international travel increased. The trend towards experience rather than product purchase continues at a record pace.

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