Luxuriate in Luxury for the Religious

Devout Christian consumers love their God while also loving their Gucci. That’s roughly how researchers at University of Minnesota, Auckland University of Technology, and Universidad Diego Portales portray their finding that many among the faithful have no problem in coveting luxury merchandise.
     Merchants might assume otherwise. Mainstream Christian religions judge materialistic shoppers to be shameful, if not downright evil, and materialism seems intertwined with shopping for luxury. Past research seems to support the assumption. Shoppers of a range of religious persuasions are more often found to be consistent tightwads than are non-religious shoppers.
     The current research doesn’t directly contradict those findings, but rather refines them. The religious shoppers treasured luxury in their purchases, but were not materialistic in the sense of valuing themselves based on how many luxury possessions they had. Truly religious consumers reject materialism as an attachment to worldly goods while feeling affection toward luxury merchandise.
     However, the research also found that positive emotions surrounding luxury goods do not uniformly translate into purchase of such goods. People who experience their religion as intimate and personal values which guide daily behavior resist the urge to buy. Researchers at University of Wyoming referred to these consumers as “cognitively religious.” They strongly agree with statements like, “The scripture of my religious affiliation is the word of God.” These consumers take comfort in adhering to a firm set of required and forbidden behaviors integral to the religion.
     People who experience their religion affectively have less resistance to fulfilling the love of luxury. These consumers are likely to agree with statements like, “God is an important influence in my life.” The affectively religious take comfort in a personal relationship with a divine being.
     In any case, there’s no need to avoid selling luxury to religious shoppers. Appeals proving successful include:

• Luxury as show. Be sure the luxury brand name is conspicuously displayed whenever the item is used in public. 
• Luxury as a password. When the consumer belongs to an exclusive group, they’ll be looking for subtle cues—what corresponds to the secret handshake which allows members to recognize each other while not tipping off outsiders. 
• Luxury as functional. Your shopper pays more in order to guarantee lasting value. 
• Luxury as celebration. Commemorate significant occasions. 

     Insightful retailers can notice that religiously devout customers have distinctive shopping habits. Identifying those distinctions is valuable because religious patrons frequently witness their faith in readily observable ways.

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