Trading Up

 “America’s middle-market consumers are Trading Up,” say Michael Silverstein and Neil Fiske—a cultural movement that has changed the landscape of the American brand. Trading Up has shifted the long-held view of everyday products and services as simple tools for modern life, to a picture of goods as emotional goldmines capable of changing lives, altering social standing, and placating emotional needs.

These products so endowed with style and sustenance, emotional relevance, and potential healing power are part of the “New Luxury,” say the authors—everyday objects that cost more but also mean more to the average consumer.