The average amount spent by affluents on home luxuries increased 16 percent in the first quarter of 2009 over previous quarter and nearly 17 percent over same quarter previous year, based upon the latest survey of 1,034 affluents (average income $207,000). 

"Since the beginning of 2009, the affluent segment of the market has been spurred to spend more money on their homes," says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing, a consumer insights firm that specializes in the affluent market. 

"Whether drawn to shop for home furnishings by retailer promotions and sales or the need to spruce up their living spaces after spending more time at home because of the recession, affluent shoppers increased spending on luxuries for their home in the first quarter.  While affluents spent more on home furnishings and decor, they spent less on luxury experiences like dining out that take them out of their home," Danziger reports.  

Commenting on what the latest survey suggests for home luxury marketers in the near term, Danziger says, "Affluent consumers are digging in to weather the rest of the recession in a nice environment, especially in areas in which the housing market has made buying a new residence impractical.  And just when we thought the recession may have plateaued, the country has been hit with worry over a potential flu pandemic, if not now then in the fall.  This may contribute in future quarters to an even greater reason for affluents to stay home, potentially good news for home luxury marketers but disastrous for experiential luxury marketers in the restaurant and travel sectors."

"In spite of bright spots in affluent consumer spending, it is clear we aren't out of the economic woods yet.  Luxury marketers must remain plugged in to learn the most recent intelligence about affluent consumer buying habits and attitudes in order to compete in this still-challenging environment," Danziger advises.

Home Luxury Report Provides Guidance about Future of the Affluent Consumer Market
Unity Marketing has just published the latest Home Luxury Report 2009, the ultimate guide to the U.S. market for luxury goods for the home. This report focuses on the buying and spending habits of the nation's affluent households -- the top quintile or 20 percent of U.S. consumer households -- of high-end or luxury products and services.

Subscribers to the Home Luxury Report 2009 will also receive a copy of the latest luxury tracking survey results for first quarter 2009  which includes a special report on the Future of the Luxury Market AFTER the Recession. 

The Home Luxury Report examines consumers' buying behavior and spending habits related to these key categories of luxury purchases:

• Art & Antiques
• Elextronics & Photography Equipment
• Home Decorating Fabrics, Window & Wall Coverings
• Furniture, Lamps, Rugs & Floor Coverings
• Garden, Outdoor, Lawn & Patio
• Kitchenware, Cookware, Cook's Tools
• Kitchen Appliances, Bath & Building Products
• Linens & Bedding Products
• Tabletop, Dinnerware, Flatware & Servingware

The report contains details on these nine luxury goods categories bought by affluent consumers, including annual spending, where these products were purchased and details of the types of products and services bought. 

Guides luxury marketers to shifts and changes in their target customers' attitudes and shopping behavior.

This report provides vital data about what luxuries affluents are buying, how much they are spending, where they are making their purchases and what brands they favor.  This report provides invaluable information about the mindset, attitudes and spending habits of the affluent consumers that luxury marketers target.  This is not just report about  people with high incomes, but affluents who buy luxury goods and services. 

Pamela N. Danziger is an internationally recognized expert specializing in consumer insights, especially for marketers and retailers that sell luxury goods and experiences to the masses as well as the 'classes.' She is president of Unity Marketing, a marketing consulting firm she founded in 1992.

Advising such clients as PPR, Diageo, Waterford-Wedgwood, Google, Lenox, Swarovski, GM, Orient-Express Hotels, Italian Trade Commission, Marie Claire magazine, The World Gold Council, and The Conference Board,  Pam taps consumer psychology to help clients navigate the changing consumer marketplace.

Her latest book is Shopping:  Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience (Kaplan, $27) is in the bookstores now.

Her other books include Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses-as well as the Classes, (Dearborn Trade Publishing, $27, hardcover) and Why People Buy Things They Don't Need: Understanding and Predicting Consumer Behavior (Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2004).  

She has appeared on CNN's In the Money, NBC's Today Show, CNBC, CNN International, CNNfn, CBS News Sunday Morning, Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, ABC News Now, NPR's Marketplace and is frequently called upon by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, American Demographics, Women's Wear Daily, Furniture World Magazine, Forbes, USA Today, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune for commentary and insight.