Abstract
The first chapter introduces the purpose of the study, which is to depict the consumer of experiential luxury by exploring how online reviewer discourse on wine, perfume and chocolate construes the imagined addressee in terms of characteristics and behaviour, luxury values and consumption goals. An excerpt from the empirical data is drawn on to offer a preliminary illustration of how online reviews project onto the addressee particular beliefs about luxury consumption. Exquisite quality, sensory appeal and uniqueness are luxury values that are considered as the reviewer establishes the worth of the reviewed fragrance, while heritage is backgrounded and scarcity is absent from the review. Finally, the opposite of high price, i.e. the cheapness of the fragrance, is drawn on as part of the argumentation for the worth of this fragrance. The sample review construes an addressee that seeks optimization of the sensory experience without desiring other traditional luxury values.
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Hommerberg, C., Lindgren, M. (2023). Introduction. In: Depicting the Consumer of Experiential Luxury. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60080-6_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60080-6_1
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