NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - December 13, 2017) - Today, the independent and objective Luxury Institute released the 2018 State of the Luxury Industry report, based on surveys of 4,300 affluent consumers from the world's seven richest industrialized nations, and Mexico. Respondents from the U.S., U.K., Italy, France, Germany, Japan and China, detailed year-ahead luxury spending plans, shopping channel preferences, views on luxury sales professionals, opinions of specific luxury brands, and categories where they anticipate significant increases or decreases in spending.
On a global basis, 92% of affluent consumers anticipate purchasing luxury goods and services in the coming year, and consumers report a slight increase in luxury spending. More than one-fourth (28%) of affluent consumers say that they plan to spend more in the next twelve months on luxury goods and services than they did in the past year. This is up from 26% who conveyed plans to boost spending in last year's survey. In line with last year's results, 9% report that they expect to reduce spending in the coming year.
Categories where affluent consumers plan to increase spending the most are all related to leisure travel: hotels (41%), airfare (40%), cruises (38%), and tours (37%). Other categories frequently cited as areas where spending will rise include dining (33%), health and fitness (30%), automobiles (30%), entertainment (30%), technology (29%), and vacation real estate (29%). In apparel, only 26% report that they will spend more or much more. For jewelry and watches, the percentage of consumers who plan to spend more or much more are 25% and 24%, respectively.
Affluent customers show a growing penchant for online shopping, but stores are still the preferred channel for a majority of shoppers. Just over half (52%) of respondents say that they prefer to shop in-store, while 21% would rather shop online, up from 17% last year. More than one in four (27%) have no preference for either channel. On average, approximately 38% of luxury brand spending takes place online via any device, and 60% happens in department stores (36%) and brand boutiques (24%).
"The rising popularity of online shopping reflects successful efforts of many luxury brands to embrace an omnichannel approach to retailing, but the ongoing appeal of the in-store experience confirms the importance of brick-and-mortar," says Luxury Institute CEO Milton Pedraza. "The major challenge remains for many companies to transform stores from cost centers into experiential drivers of profitable growth. This can only be achieved with proper investment in technology, design, and especially in increasing the emotional intelligence and relationship building skills of the entire organization."
The complete 2018 State of the Luxury Industry, including detailed information on affluent Mexican consumers, is available for purchase. For complete rankings and ratings with additional insights from this and other WealthSurvey reports, visit www.LuxuryInstitute.com, or contact Luxury Institute CEO Milton Pedraza (mpedraza@luxuryinstitute.com).
Contact Information:
Katherine Sousa
ksousa@luxuryinstitute.com