Report Summary
Providing the most comprehensive and up-to-date information and analysis of the Luxury Consumer market, including the behaviours, preferences and habits of the consumer.
Sales of luxury personal goods in the US plunged in 2020 as demand for high-end apparel and accessories diminished during the pandemic. An uptick in consumer confidence will help the market recover, and luxury shoppers will reemerge ready to spend, but with new expectations for comfort and sustainability.
The global personal luxury goods market – which includes luxury apparel, accessories, hard luxury (ie jewelry and watches) and beauty categories – had been growing steadily for the past decade, but sales in the Americas fell by an estimated 27% to approximately $73.7 billion during the pandemic conditions of 2020. Demand for retail in general fell dramatically during the lockdown period, and with few places for consumers to go or be seen, their interest in luxury brand items diminished.
Nevertheless, with consumer confidence again trending upwards, the market is expected to recover relatively quickly and is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by early 2023. Pent up demand for “revenge spending” could drive shoppers to treat themselves to high-end luxury purchases, and the return of international travelers to the US will boost bottom lines on Fifth Avenue and Rodeo Drive.
Read on to discover more details or take a look at all of our Consumer Lifestyles market research.
Quickly understand
- The impact of COVID-19 on the luxury personal goods market.
- Luxury shoppers’ demographic details and preferences.
- Barriers and motivations for buying luxury goods.
- Consumer sentiments around luxury ecommerce.
Covered in this report
Brands: Entireworld, Gucci, Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Fendi, Givenchy, Saint Laurent.
Expert analysis from a specialist in the field
Written by Kristen Boesel, a leading analyst in the Consumer Lifestyles sector, her extensive knowledge delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight current trends and add expert context to the numbers.
The pandemic has forced consumers to re-evaluate the difference between essential and inessential spending. Luxury items fall on the inessential side of the equation and demand for designer apparel and accessories has diminished greatly. During the recovery, it will be incumbent on luxury brands to encourage shoppers to treat themselves and invest in high quality designer goods. In the longer term, making strides toward sustainability can help luxury brands compete against fast fashion.
Kristen Boesel
Senior Lifestyles Analyst
Table of Contents
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Overview
- What you need to know
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definitions
- COVID-19: US context
- What you need to know
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Executive Summary
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- Top takeaways: what luxury consumers want
- Market overview
- Impact of COVID-19 on the personal luxury goods market
- Figure 1: Impact of COVID-19 on personal luxury goods, May 2021
- Opportunities and challenges
- Challenge: skeptics think luxury brands are not worth the steep price tag
- Figure 2: Barriers to purchasing luxury brands, October 2020
- Opportunity: emphasize the high quality of luxury items
- Figure 3: Percentage who agree luxury brands make high quality products, October 2020
- Challenge: consumers don’t have a reason to own luxury items
- Opportunity: encourage shoppers to treat themselves during pandemic recovery
- Figure 4: Luxury purchase motivations, by gender, October 2020
- Challenge: luxury brands must compete with their own products on resale platforms
- Opportunity: join forces for greater control of the resale market
- Figure 5: Attitudes toward purchasing luxury items online, October 2020
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The Luxury Market – Key Takeaways
- Personal luxury market suffered in 2020
- Luxury became a lower priority
- Affluent households’ spending power remains strong
- The pandemic hastened a shift to online shopping
- Personal luxury market suffered in 2020
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Personal Luxury Goods Market Size
- Estimated market size
- Figure 6: Size of global luxury market, global personal luxury goods market and the Americas’ personal luxury goods market, 2019 and 2020
- Personal luxury goods
- Figure 7: Estimated global sales of personal luxury goods by category, in billions of Euros, 2020
- Sales by market
- Forecast
- Estimated market size
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Impact of COVID-19 on the Personal Luxury Goods Market
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- Figure 8: Impact of COVID-19 on personal luxury goods, May 2021
- Immediate impacts
- Figure 9: Agreement that interest in luxury shopping has diminished, October 2020
- Short term
- Recovery
- Learnings from the last recession
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Market Factors
- Economic factors
- Affluence is more concentrated among older adults
- Figure 10: Distribution of household net worth, by age of householder, 2017
- K-shaped recovery
- Changes in disposable personal income
- Figure 11: Disposable personal income change from previous period, January 2019-February 2021
- Consumer confidence edges upwards
- Figure 12: Consumer confidence index, January 2015-March 2021
- Travel revival can boost luxury industry in 2021
- Figure 13: Percentage who enjoy luxury shopping when they travel, October 2020
- Pandemic purchases shift online
- Fashion industry must reckon with decades of waste
- Economic factors
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Companies and Brands – Key Takeaways
- During recovery, brands should cater to a post-pandemic mindset
- Take advantage of recent attention to supply chains
- Luxury brands have a chance to shape the future of luxury resales
- The fashion world is shifting online
- During recovery, brands should cater to a post-pandemic mindset
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Market Opportunities
- Re-emergence is a reason for shoppers to treat themselves
- Figure 14: Barriers to purchasing luxury brands, October 2020
- Focus on craftsmanship
- Appeal to wealthier consumers by showcasing artisans
- Brand spotlight: M.Gemi’s line of handbags
- Figure 15: Instagram post with image of a Tuscan shoemaker, April 2021
- Accommodate comfort
- Figure 16: Women’s sweatpants, April 2021
- Use sustainable materials
- Figure 17: Iris van Herpen ~ Roots of Rebirth, January 2021
- Re-emergence is a reason for shoppers to treat themselves
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Competitive Strategies
- Luxury resellers: if you can’t beat the competition, join them
- Digital promotion: selling virtual luxury
- Fashionable gaming
- Non-fungible fashion
- Gucci’s digital expansions
- Figure 18: Gucci Off The Grid, October 2020
- Luxury resellers: if you can’t beat the competition, join them
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The Consumer – Key Takeaways
- Luxury shoppers skew younger and male
- Men go for apparel, women spend on accessories
- Brands and logos help men express their identity
- Luxury items offer value through quality
- Online luxury shoppers want easy returns and the opinion of their peers
- Luxury shoppers skew younger and male
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Brands Purchased
- Wealthier shoppers are less likely to purchase luxury brands
- Chanel and Gucci top the list of luxury brands
- Figure 19: Luxury brands purchased in the past two years, October 2020
- Luxury shoppers skew male
- Figure 20: Luxury brands purchased in the past two years, by gender, October 2020
- Younger adults are drawn to luxury brands
- Figure 21: Luxury brands purchased in the past two years, by age, October 2020
- The audience for luxury items is diverse
- Figure 22: Luxury brands purchased in the past two years, race and Hispanic origin, October 2020
- Wealthier shoppers are less likely to purchase luxury brands
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Items Purchased
- Chanel and Dior lead for fragrance
- Beauty and skincare a weak area for Gucci and Louis Vuitton
- Figure 23: Luxury items purchased in past two years, by brand, October 2020
- Male luxury buyers gravitate toward clothing and shoes
- Figure 24: Luxury items purchased in past two years, by brand, among men, October 2020
- Luxury brand clothing not a top purchase among female luxury shoppers
- Louis Vuitton bags are must-haves for female luxury shoppers
- Figure 25: Luxury items purchased in past two years by brand, among women, October 2020
- Chanel and Dior lead for fragrance
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Categories Where Brand Names Matter Most
- Younger shoppers more likely to link brands to personal identity
- Figure 26: Agreement that brands purchased illustrate who a person is, October 2020
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- Figure 27: Attitude toward wearing brand logos, October 2020
- Advanced age of the wealthy influences brand preferences
- Figure 28: Categories where brand names matter to affluent and HNW consumers, October 2020
- Luxury shoppers say brands matter most for clothing and shoes
- Figure 29: Categories where brand names matter, total adults vs luxury shoppers, October 2020
- Male luxury shoppers appreciate clothing and shoe brands
- Brand name BPC products appeal to middle-aged women
- Figure 30: Categories where brand names matter, by age and gender, October 2020
- Younger shoppers more likely to link brands to personal identity
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Purchase Motivations
- Perceived quality drives value of luxury products
- Figure 31: Percentage who agree luxury brands make high-quality products, October 2020
- Quality also helps justify a luxury purchase as a treat
- Figure 32: Luxury purchase motivations, October 2020
- Male luxury shoppers more driven by appearances than quality
- Figure 33: Luxury brand attitudes, by gender, October 2020
- Women want to treat themselves with luxury
- Figure 34: Luxury purchase motivations, by gender, October 2020
- Perceived quality drives value of luxury products
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Buying Luxury Items Online
- Most consumers want to see expensive items first
- Third-party sites have a steep hill to climb
- Figure 35: Attitudes toward purchasing luxury items online, October 2020
- Male luxury shoppers are third parties’ best bet
- Figure 36: Attitudes toward purchasing luxury items online, October 2020
- Reviews from other shoppers carry more weight than experts’
- Easy returns can encourage luxury shoppers to buy online
- Figure 37: Improving online luxury purchase experience, October 2020
- Reaching luxury consumers online
- Figure 38: TURF Analysis – eCommerce features, October 2020
- Most consumers want to see expensive items first
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Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Data sources
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Appendix – The Consumer
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- Figure 39: Luxury items purchased in past two years, by brand, October 2020
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- Figure 40: Categories where brand names matter, by gender, October 2020
- TURF analysis: ecommerce features
- Methodology
- Output
- Figure 41: TURF Analysis – eCommerce features, October 2020
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