What is the 'new normal' in the luxury market after the recession? According to a new study conducted by Unity Marketing and presented by Pam Danziger at the recent Luxury Interactive conference held in New York, the new normal won't be anything like the old normal.

Danziger says, "Thanks to the recession, affluent consumers are taking time out from their profligate, overspending ways to reassess, reevaluate and reprioritize their lives. This will be bad news for luxury marketers, some of whom maintain the illusion that the current recession is only a temporary downturn in an otherwise rising luxury market. Unity Marketing's research shows that affluent shoppers are starting to ask questions about the luxury brands they once patronized, and those brands often come up short with compelling and meaningful answers as to why they should buy."



Danziger adds: "The new normal in the luxury market is going to be all about delivering new values to the luxury shoppers who control the purse strings - and the fortunes - of every luxury brand today."



Unity Marketing recently conducted a series of focus groups among highly-affluent luxury shoppers in Beverly Hills. The qualitative research was followed by a quantitative survey in April 2009 among 1,041 affluent consumers with an average income $204,900.



Danziger warns, "Unfortunately, the future will be very ugly indeed for luxury brands that fail to listen closely to the opinions of what once were their best customers, but many of whom today are disenfranchised and looking for new alternatives to their conspicuous consumption lifestyle."