By Prof. Diana Derval, Chair of DervalResearch

One would think that the ultimate dream once you cashed out your fortune in bitcoins would be to buy an island in the sun and a yacht. But luxury expenses vary greatly depending on the region with Western and Middle-Eastern UHNWIs more likely to own a yacht than Asian UHNWIs. Some insights on the neuroscience of yachting – related to vibration, status, motion, and shine – will help decode customers’ behavior and preferences.

A yacht’s vibration and sound can dramatically affect the overall experience.
On a yacht of 60 m, it is acoustically possible to limit the sound intensity to 35–40 dB, which would correspond to the sound of a car. On smaller yachts, it is trickier to harness the vibrations and while sunbathing on the deck you might be exposed to 70 dB sounds in the 50–100 Hz frequency—this would feel like driving a loud Harley.
For this reason, personas who are more sensitive to vibrations – you can identify them because they will have a piloerection (aka goosebumps) while listening to Mozart’s Tuba Mirum requiem – will only tolerate a superyacht—think of the 115-m megayacht powered by Lurssen, bought by Chinese billionaire and real estate tycoon Samuel Tak Lee.

The size of the yacht matters not only for acoustic but also for status reasons.
For some people, status-seeking is a physiological need, in the same way as eating and drinking. Research shows these personas have a higher binding potential on DRD2/DRD3 dopamine receptors and are craving for social status—because showing status is extremely rewarding to them.
This superyacht owner for instance wanted exclusive pieces of equipment other sheikhs did not have and that would improve his ranking and performance, with gained motor skills in terms of velocity or agility. The OEM engineers arranged therefore a private R&D fair, to showcase all current developments and let the Sheikh handpick cutting-edge technologies, to be turned into tailor-made yachting gear.

Motion and, to be more specific, vection has an impact on yachting preferences. Something to keep in mind when designing moving experiences is that some customers, especially in Asia, are more sensitive, to vection-induced motion sickness. Vection is the illusion that you are moving based on visual cues provided by a yacht cruising or VR (Virtual Reality) goggles. This motion sickness—probably due to contradictory signals coming from our visual and motion senses—has been identified as causing gastric tachyarrhythmia and nausea as measured by an electrogastrogram (EGG).
Submarine types of luxury yachts with few and little windows, like the stunning Yacht A designed by Philippe Starck, could be an option for the concerned UHNWIs.

Great news is that shiny – in particular polarized light reflecting on the sea – irresistibly attracts certain personas into yachting.
Polarotactic people are attracted to shiny objects (like cars, shoes, bags, and jewelry) and to polarized light (whether natural like the sunset or artificial). They could spend hours staring at the stars or at the sea, probably due to a regular retinal mosaic pattern making them more resistant to brightness. These personas can be easily identified as they wear sunglasses in very rare and specific occasions (like driving, skiing, and of course yachting).

Knowing target personas’ sensory and physiological profile – in terms of vibration, status, motion, light, and more – is key in order to identify profitable markets, engage with eligible personas, and adapt the yachting design and experience.

Derval, D. (2024). Designing Luxury Brands: The Art and Science of Creating Game-Changers. Management for Professionals, Springer. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-54093-6