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Dive Overview:
A July report from Morning Consult found that luxury fashion shoppers are optimistic, with 58% saying their financial outlook will improve in the next 12 months. The “Deep Dive into Luxury Consumers” surveyed luxury consumers in China, France, India, Mexico and the United States and found that while their “personal financial situations are similar to luxury consumers overall,” “luxury fashion shoppers are significantly younger and more optimistic about their financial future.” That said, 51% said they tend to prefer “cheaper options” when shopping. The report also noted that 70% of luxury fashion consumers are trend-conscious and 77% are tradition-oriented. Additionally, 46% of these consumers expressed a “strong desire to be part of the popular crowd,” and 88% said they “set many goals to be successful.”
Dive Insights:
As economic woes continue to impact the luxury industry, fashion brands are struggling to connect with consumers: Burberry replaced its CEO amid falling sales, while Kering, which predicted a big drop in first-half sales, recently replaced its president of the Americas and appointed a chief brand officer.
“Luxury buyers represent a small segment of the population, but their purchasing power means brands need to understand them,” the report said. “The variance in performance among luxury brands last year speaks to the fickle nature of this group.”
The report, which used data from Morning Consult Intelligence, found that shoes, jewelry and watches “have seen the greatest price increases,” meaning these categories had the highest proportion of luxury shoppers “willing to pay more than three times the standard category price.”
Meanwhile, luxury shoppers were most likely unwilling to pay top dollar for handbags and cosmetics and fragrance products. “These categories are also predominantly dominated by female customers,” the report said, adding that “individuals who do not typically shop in these categories are less willing to pay top dollar for these purchases.”
Morning Consult said its consumer spending tracker data allows it to compare the spending of high-income consumers with other groups, and “their increased spending is roughly in line with the premium price points that luxury shoppers indicate they are willing to pay.” The report added that in May, “people in households earning more than $100,000 a year spent 49% more on clothing purchases than the general clothing shopper demographic that month.”
The report defines U.S. luxury consumers as those who earn at least $75,000 a year and have a household income of at least $100,000 a year. Additionally, luxury buyers agree with the statement, “I am generally willing to pay a higher price for higher quality products,” and luxury buyers are defined as consumers who say they have purchased a luxury item within the past six months.
Luxury fashion shoppers also said they were “absolutely certain” or “very likely to consider” purchasing from at least one of 14 luxury apparel brands: Arc’teryx, Armani, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Canada Goose, Chanel, Christian Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Moncler, Prada and Tiffany & Co.
Data in this report comes from an online survey conducted May 18-19 and June 22-23, 2024 among a representative sample of approximately 2,200 U.S. adults. Data is weighted to approximate the adult population based on age, gender, race, education level, region, gender by age, and race by education level. Morning Consult audience data is obtained from Morning Consult Intelligence.
