My luxury my way: Crafting luxury experience in transient moments

This study adopts a consumer-centric approach to investigate luxury experiences during consumer escape. Through 29 in-depth photo-elicitation interviews, the findings capture consumer’s idiosyncratic view of luxury that integrates both traditional and unconventional luxury characteristics. This study reveals how traditional and unconventional luxury characteristics can co-exist and be integrated into the creation of luxury experiences. In contrast to traditional luxury experiences, which offer extraordinary and hedonic outcomes from exclusive and opulent consumption, new, alternative forms of luxury experiences are manifested through escape relating to consumer’s empowered self-discovery and growth, and relational engagement. This study uncovers distinct forms of luxury experiences that carry transformative effects and relational engagement. It contributes to the growing discussion that luxury is accessible to all by offering empirical examples that hold meanings of luxury for consumers. It provides managerial implications reflecting these findings, e.g., crafting brand narratives around personal rarity and linking luxury offerings to self-values.