Wealthy Consumers Prefer Apple over Sony
The objective and independent New York City-based Luxury Institute has released its latest WealthSurvey, "Apple vs. Sony: Brand Face-Off," a study comparing and contrasting perceptions of the two brands by wealthy U.S. consumers with average household income of $247,000 and average net worth of $1.8 million.
Sony product ownership far outstrips Apple's (80% vs. 51%) but Apple owners are more passionate than Sony owners. Using a 0-10 scale, they rate Apple 8.24 for being "truly unique and exclusive" compared to 6.70 for Sony by its owners. Apple also makes the customer "feel special" more than Sony (7.58 vs. 6.70).
Wealthy Sony owners are likely to describe Sony products as traditional, sensible and common. By contrast, wealthy Apple owners describe Apple as innovative and trendy.
In the retail environment, Apple enjoys another edge over Sony. Wealthy consumers are far more likely to agree that Apple stores are better organized and maintained (8.46 vs. 7.41) and more appealing (8.41 vs. 7.43) than Sony stores. Perceptions of the quality of employee help and the overall store atmosphere favor Apple, too.
"Although Apple did not set out to be a luxury brand, it exhibits most of the qualities that luxury brands should strive for in the 21st century," says Milton Pedraza, Luxury Institute CEO. "Apple delivers fabulous product design, unbeatable functionality, and a powerful in-store experience to consumers of all ages that many luxury brands lack. And when it comes to the 'cool factor' and a guru CEO, Apple is untouchable. Luxury brands could do worse than borrow a page or two from Apple's playbook."
About the Luxury Institute
The Luxury Institute is the uniquely independent and impartial ratings, research and Luxury CRM consulting institution that is the trusted and respected voice of the high net-worth consumer. Its publications, research and consulting services guide and educate high net-worth individuals and companies catering to them on leading edge trends, high net-worth consumer rankings and ratings of luxury brands, and best practices. The Luxury Institute also operates LuxuryBoard.com, the world's first global, membership-based online community for luxury goods and services executives, professionals and entrepreneurs.
