"Before the current recession," writes Mark Dolliver in an article at Adweek, "popular wisdom said wealthy people tended to be relatively untouched by the ups and downs of the economy and would keep buying high-end products and services no matter what." Well, times have changed.

If your business serves the luxury market, we'll bet you're painfully aware this assumption no longer holds true. In fact, many customers who once splurged on extravagant meals, retail "therapy" and spare-no-expense weekend getaways are now busy struggling just to pay their mortgages.

"The departure of these people from the scene would matter less if luxury marketers could count on everyone who remains affluent to shop for fancy, high-end goods," he notes. "But studies by the American Affluence Research Center suggest a majority of affluent consumers are largely indifferent to luxury goods of the conspicuous-consumption ilk."

According to Ron Kurtz, the center's director, they often approach their purchases with middle-class pragmatism—placing a high value on quality, craftsmanship and design. "This requires a different marketing approach than one that is in one way or another based on the premise of 'if you've got it, flaunt it,' which seems to be what the luxury products were following as a strategy,'" he told Adweek.

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