The Future is Female : A Study of Young Chinese Women's Behavior towards Luxury goods

Purpose: The purpose with this paper is to improve the understanding for companies on what influences female Chinese consumers in the age 20-25 year old to buy luxury goods. Research question: What behaviors do 20-25 year old Chinese women consumers have in relationship to luxury goods? Method: The study is mainly consisting of a quantitative web-survey that consists of 100 respondents. The survey was addressed to young women that came from China, in the ages 20-25 year old. It was of interest to get answers both from young women that are luxury consumers and from those who are not, in order to get a hint of how they relate to luxury goods in general. As a complement to the survey, a qualitative focus group interview was made with five young Chinese women in the age 22-24 year old. Theory: The theoretical framework includes theories about; luxury, reference group, family, roles and status, motivation, attitudes and beliefs and the buyer decision process. Conclusion: The results show that young Chinese women’s consumer behavior is in some aspect in the process of change. For example, they now want to stand out, but subconsciously they still act upon what earlier theories have claimed, to be like everyone else, because it is firmly rooted in their behaviors. This shows that they are in the process of a behavioral change towards acting more individualistic. Young Chinese women's consumer behavior is characterized by the fact that they have a positive attitude towards buying more luxury goods in the future, both for personal reasons but also because it will help their career and make them seem more professional. Although, they consider there to be some risks with buying luxury goods, both social and economic. Concerning the buyer decision process they research about the product, either by reading magazines looking on the Internet or talking to their friends. Today almost every purchase, regarding luxury, is planned and often based on personal opinions but sometimes with the regards of others opinions, like friends and family.Program: Master in Fashion Management with specialisation in Fashion Marketing and Retailin