VIEWS From THE WealthY CONSUMER

Publishing date: January 2023

POPULATION - BRAND AWARENESS - PURCHASE CHANNELS - Inspiration and Style - INTERESTS AND HABITS -

This short report looks at purchasing trends and sentiments on luxury fashion and handbags. The survey was completed by 100 respondents in each of the UK, US and China in November 2022, and was balanced 46:54 male:female and 50:50 for under-45s vs over-45s. When converted to USD, the sample had a high median level of investible assets of almost $2.5m.

1. The Chinese are the most enthusiastic buyers of luxury fashion and handbags, with more than 90% having purchased goods in these categories last year. They are also big spenders, particularly for handbags and coats/jackets, where almost half spent more than RMB 20,000.

2. Stores were comfortably the most popular place from which to buy luxury fashion and handbags last year: seven in ten affluent in UK/US/China purchased from luxury brands’ own stores.

3. Affluent Chinese are comfortably the most likely to buy these goods via their mobile devices (87%), while Americans are most likely to do so via laptops (73%).

4. Affluent Chinese are particularly inspired by advertising in malls/shopping centres and social media.

5. Quality is the most important trait in all three countries when buying luxury fashion and bags.

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Chanel, Gucci and LV are the strongest performers across the regions

Fig.1 “Are there any brands which immediately come to mind when thinking of high-end fashion?” [most selected]

In terms of top-of-mind awareness, a handful of brands prove to be popular across the three different countries surveyed. Within the UK, Gucci stands out most, as a quarter of the sample list the brand first of all. Chanel and Christian Dior follow a short distance behind (17% and 11% respectively), with all other brands garnering only a handful or fewer mentions. The US has a slightly more equal split among the most-cited brands, with Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Christian Dior all being mentioned by just over one in ten. The first four of these brands also lead the way in China, with Hermès also mentioned by one in ten.

Fig. 2 “Are there any brands which immediately come to mind when thinking of luxury handbags?” [most selected]

Many of the same brands also appear when it comes to top of mind awareness for luxury handbags. Chanel and Louis Vuitton jump to the top of the list in the UK, with the latter brand also leading the way in the US and China. Hermès is also more likely to be mentioned for handbags than fashion, with Mulberry, Prada and Coach also having a higher level of awareness in this category.

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The Chinese are the biggest spenders on luxury fashion and handbags

UK

Fig. 3a -3b “Thinking specifically about buying luxury fashion and handbags for yourself, approximately how much did you spend on each of the following items within the past 12 months? And how much do you plan to spend within the next 12 months?” [UK]

For Brits, shoes were the most popular category last year, with 95% spending within the category. This was closely followed by dresses/skirts among females (87%) and trousers/jeans (also 87%). Eyewear and purses/wallets were the categories least likely to be purchased last year, although around three in five still did so. Handbags, dresses/skirts and shoes were the most lucrative categories, with around a quarter spending more than £2,500. Looking forwards, similar trends are likely to prevail across the different categories. However, there may be a slight downturn in category buyers overall, perhaps reflecting concerns for some such as global inflation.

USA

Fig. 4a-4b “Thinking specifically about buying luxury fashion and handbags for yourself, approximately how much did you spend on each of the following items within the past 12 months? And how much do you plan to spend within the next 12 months?” [US]

Shoes were also the most popular category among Americans last year (98%), followed closely by trousers/jeans (91%). Other popular categories included shirts (86%), dresses/skirts (84% among women) and accessories (80%). Like Brits, handbags, dresses/skirts and shoes were the most lucrative categories, although an even higher proportion spent in the top price category (more than $2,500). Handbags proved particularly popular, with 41% spending upwards of $2,500 last year. Spending patterns look likely to be broadly consistent next year, albeit with most categories seeing a slight downturn in the potential number of buyers.

CHINA

Fig. 4a-4b “Thinking specifically about buying luxury fashion and handbags for yourself, approximately how much did you spend on each of the following items within the past 12 months? And how much do you plan to spend within the next 12 months?” [CHINA]

The Chinese are the most enthusiastic buyers of luxury fashion and handbags, with more than 90% having purchased goods in most of these categories last year. They are also big spenders when buying these goods, particularly for handbags and coats/jackets, where almost half spent more than RMB 20,000. The Chinese are likely to remain highly engaged buyers next year, with a potential increase in the number of buyers spending more than RMB 20,000 on bags, shoes and coats/jackets.

DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

Stores remain the most popular buying locations

Fig. 6 “Where have you purchased luxury fashion and handbags from within the past 12 months?”

Luxury brands’ online sites remain popular despite the clear shift back to shopping in stores. Almost half purchased luxury fashion/handbags from brands’ websites within the past year, with another three in ten doing so from online general retailers. A quarter said that they purchased via shopping apps last year, while a further one in ten said that they had done so from online second-hand retailers and via social media sites. Sites such as Vestiaire Collective, Poshmark and Vinted were among the most popular sites cited for second-hand purchases, with eBay leading the way for sales.

MOBILE PURCHASE IS THE DOMINANT SHOPPING channel IN CHINA

Fig. 7 – “You stated that you have purchased luxury fashion or bags online with in the past year. Which device(s) did you use to make these purchases?”

Among online shoppers of luxury fashion and bags, there are quite marked variances by region. Affluent Brits and Americans follow a similar pattern, with around half buying via their mobiles and another third doing so via tablet devices. Americans are also prolific shoppers via computers, almost three quarters (73%) doing so via their laptops and 42% via desktops vs only 47% and 29% respectively among Brits. Buying patterns in China are broadly similar as the US and UK for computers and tablets, but are considerably higher for mobiles where 87% used them to buy a luxury bag or fashion item last year.

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The Chinese stand out for their sources of fashion inspiration

Fig. 8 – “Where do you get inspiration for fashion?”

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FASHION STYLES - SELF ASSESSMENT

Fig. 9 – “Which of the following fashion styles best describes you? [select up to 3]”

Overall, just over half of the wealthy describe their style as sophisticated (54%) and/or casual (53%) from the given list of 10 styles. Perhaps surprisingly, Brits are the least likely of the three countries to describe their style as sophisticated and most likely to be casual, although they are the most likely to say their style is business-oriented (32%) and vintage (24%). Meanwhile, Americans are more likely to describe their style as sophisticated rather than casual, while the results are broadly equal among the Chinese. The Chinese stand out for also being the most likely of the three countries to describe their style as trendy (46%) and sporty (30%), and least likely for being vintage (10%).

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Quality is most important for designer fashion and handbags

Fig. 10 – “Which traits are most important to you when buying designer fashion and handbags?”

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There is a broadly high level of interest among affluent individuals for buying from small and local fashion/handbag brands. More than four in five are interested in doing so in all three countries, with only a minority showing no enthusiasm for them at all. Interest is highest in the US where 56% say they are very interested in buying from these more niche companies.

Fig. 11 – “How interested are you in shopping for luxury fashion and handbags from smaller or local brands?”

When shopping for luxury fashion and handbags, there is a broadly high level of consideration given to sustainability, but especially so in China. While only one in ten affluent Brits and Americans always consider sustainability when buying, this figure rises to 31% in China, and with an additional 49% saying that they do so for the majority of purchases. By contrast, Brits and Americans are much more likely to say that they only consider sustainability for some purchases of these items. Encouragingly, only one in ten say that they never consider this factor (falling to just 3% in China), underlining how important it is fashion and handbag brands to have strong environmental credentials.

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Fig. 12 – “And how often do you consider sustainability when shopping specifically for luxury fashion and handbags?”

The past decade has seen an acceleration of rental and second-hand models, primarily on environmental grounds. A number of these companies such as Vestiaire Collective and Rent the Runway are now becoming widely known and used by many wealthy individuals. Just under half of respondents in each of the three countries surveyed are now interested in buying second-hand fashion and handbags, with only around a quarter not interested in doing so. Many people are also looking to streamline their ownership of luxury goods, with a broadly high level of interest in selling wardrobe pieces to companies such as those above or donating items to charities.

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Fig. 13 “How interested are you in collaborations between luxury and more mass market brands (e.g. Omega and Swatch) when it comes to choosing luxury jewellery and watches?”

Rental lags a little way behind overall, although this is due to the UK and US response where only around a third are interested, vs more than half in China. Similarly, affluent Brits’ and Americans’ enthusiasm towards buying digital goods from fashion brands (e.g. NFTs) is much lower than the Chinese: just under half of the former two countries’ respondents are not interested in this vs only 10% in China. Finally, we again see the Chinese having the strongest environmental credentials, with 77% being interested in buying items which use sustainable alternative materials, something which many brands are now exploring more rigorously (vs a still-high 65% in the US and 56% in the UK).

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This short report is intended to provide an up-to-date snapshot on some of the key trends in the luxury fashion and handbags market in Q4 2022. For more information on this study or any other research requirements, please contact us at reports@altiant.com.

To view the data set in full, or speak to us about any of your luxury research requirements, please email us at contact@altiant.com

Contributors

Chris Wisson, Knowledge Director

Viktoria Prazova, Senior Project Manager

Contact

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media@altiant.com

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