Luxury buying in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Luxury products represent the most complex in terms of the various factors influencing the buyer's choice.In particular, the role played by important social symbols, publicly consumed goods, change in culture, opinion leadership, reference group, social consumption motivation, and gender differences make the consumer decision making process a complex area of study.An analysis of literature revealed that luxury buying was an important trend in the Emirati society in the United Arab Emirates, whose purchase behaviour of the same has not been documented as yet.Owning luxury products reflected one's personality, social image, and their position in this society.This paper studies the various factors influencing the consumer's purchase decisions on luxury products in the UAE.Necessary propositions were drawn to reflect the purchase decision of luxury products by the Arab citizens of the UAE. 13 structured focus groups were conducted with Emirati nationals, both men and women, and a content analysis on each of the propositions was carried out.Findings indicated that family and peers were the key influencers of purchase decisions related to luxury products.These findings represent the social and cultural considerations to be taken into account in the marketing of luxury products in the UAE.