As novelty and exoticism become increasingly appealing to consumers, luxury purchases are taking on new psychological significance. High-end acquisitions, particularly when unplanned, offer more than status; they provide a temporary escape from everyday pressures. Yet despite their prevalence, spontaneous luxury purchases remain surprisingly underexplored. To address this gap and help hospitality and tourism practitioners capitalise on the behaviour of luxury consumers, Professor YooHee Hwang and Professor Sam Kim of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), working with a co-author, explored the emotions driving unplanned luxury consumption among US and Asian consumers.
