Not all luxury customers are alike so a one-size-fits-all marketing strategy won't work, says Pam Danziger in her new book, Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury  

Stevens, PA  May, 2011 -- In Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury: How new consumer values are redefining the way we market luxury, Pam Danziger offers  insights into the shopping and spending behavior of top-tier consumers. 

"For luxury marketers, there are really only two income segments that really matter:  the ultra-affluent segment with incomes of $250,000 and above and the HENRYs, those earning $100,000 to $249,999," Danziger explains.  "While the typical ultra-affluent household spends three to four times more than a HENRY, the fact is there are ten HENRY households for every one ultra-affluent.

That makes the HENRY segment extremely important to luxury marketers, yet these are the customers who are holding back and not indulging in luxury like in the pre-recession period.  Luxury marketers can't afford to walk away from the HENRY segment.  Their challenge is to put the 'luxe' back in their marketing to these hestitant customers."  

Danziger's new book will help you get to know the HENRYs (High Earning Not Rich Yet households with incomes of $100,000 or more). They along with their wealthier counterparts, including the sometimes overlooked millionaires living next door, make up the top 20 percent of household incomes in the U.S. and account for more than 80 percent of all luxury spending. You will find them in the lobbies of five-star hotels, at boutique counters, and on the sales floors of high-end department stores, as well as shopping at the local discount outlets and online. They can also be found at auto shows and in art galleries, and they are often major contributors to a wide spectrum of not-for-profit organizations.

But clearly this market is not one market. This new book by one of the foremost experts on retail and discretionary spending redefines the luxury market today, segmenting it by the obvious demographics of age and income, and by the more nuanced characteristics of life stage and lifestyle, which better explain consumer relationships with high-end brands.

The author uses survey data collected between 2007 and the first quarter of 2011 to define five distinct groups within the luxury market -- Butterflies, Cocooners, Aspirers, Temperate Pragmatists, and X-Fluents. Each of these groups makes up approximately one fifth of the market. Understanding these five groups of consumers, especially the new Temperate Pragmatists, will be the key to surviving and thriving in today's highly competitive luxury marketplace.

The book also examines the myth that luxury consumers don't use the internet and points out that many luxury marketers are missing the mark by refusing to allow their time-starved clients to shop online.

Find out about the demographic and economic forces that will shape the high-end market for the next 10 years. Learn how leading brands are adjusting to the biggest wave of changes to sweep through the luxury market in decades.

Click this link to learn more about Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury and to order a copy.

For media: Pam Danziger available for interviews. Charts, tables and graphs detailing major findings in the report also are available.

About  Pam Danziger and Unity Marketing