Altiant has released the Q2 2026 findings of its Global Luxury & Asset Management (GLAM) Monitor, delivering fresh insights to guide business strategies in today’s shifting luxury landscape.
This quarter, 468 new respondents contributed to a dataset of over 15,000 interviews collected since GLAM’s inception, with a median household income of $272 and median investible assets of $900k.
Structured around four sections - Purchase Behaviour & Intent, Luxury & Sustainability, Finance, and Travel & Leisure time - the Monitor captures the evolving sentiment and behaviour of affluents and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).
GLAM is an interactive platform powered by Tableau, allowing users to reframe the data by age, gender, four regions, and household income.
By running this research quarterly, Altiant not only sharpens the accuracy of its insights but also equips brands, researchers, consultants, students and journalists with a dynamic tool to anticipate shifts in global luxury consumer behaviour and stay ahead of emerging trends.
We welcome the free and fair use of our data simply asking that you clearly link your readers to the source of the data whenever applicable. As we publish additional iterations, trends will continue to strengthen, enabling you to further enhance your understanding of global luxury consumers. In the event you have any questions about the data, please contact us at media@altiant.com.
Key Takeaways
· Global geopolitical instability
Following the outbreak of the US/Israel war with Iran, 69% are now concerned about the geopolitical stability in the world, up from 62% in Q1.
Among the aforementioned 69%, 31% plan to spend less while 47% think they will save more as a result of this geopolitical concern. In terms of travel, 42% think they will consequently take fewer international trips and 38% plan to take more domestic ones.
· Wellness Spend Trends Up
Wellness spending (e.g. spas/retreats, treatments, coaching, longevity) was introduced as a new category measure in this quarter, with 25% of current wellness customers planning to boost their spend in 2026/27 and only 15% cutting back.
· Luxury & sustainability
The likes of Tesla, Stella McCartney, Gucci and Hermès garner a high share of the response each quarter, with these brands also being among the most cited in Q2. Meanwhile, many wealthy individuals do not state any specific sustainable brands or, even worse, actively mistrust some green claims, something which brands continue to have to work on resolving.
· Electric/Hybrid car sentiments
Almost half (47%) now say that they own at least one electric or hybrid car (rising to 65% among the affluent/HNW Chinese respondents), a new tracker high point.
· Affluent/HNWIs and AI usage
More than two thirds (68%) are now using AI programs (up from 60% in Q1), rising to almost three quarters of millennials, American and APAC respondents.
Quotes
From Lars Long, Founder & CEO, Altiant
‘2025 was a year in a rush, with rapidly developing opportunities and threats for the luxury industry. While some brands found the going tough, others thrived. The first half of 2026 has, if anything, accelerated further, with the US/Israel war with Iran having an immediate global impact. Issues such as the energy and climate crises, other international conflicts such as the Ukraine war, ongoing tariff uncertainties and inflation continue to impact affluent sentiment. AI has also become firmly established, with many people now using it daily, either consciously or not.’
