Here’s some validation for your next client pitch: When luxury consumers have extra money to spend, they’re choosing travel over handbags, watches, and just about everything else.
The Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Company surveyed more than 2,000 luxury clients for their new report, “The State of Fashion: Face to Face With Luxury Clients,” and asked how they’d spend an additional $5,000 of disposable income. Travel dominated across every client tier in both the U.S. and China — 38 percent of occasional U.S. luxury clients and 37 percent of established ones (those spending $10,000 to $50,000 annually on luxury goods) put travel first. Jewelry, the strongest product-based alternative, trailed well behind.
The category math backs it up. The report projects luxury hotels and fine dining will grow at a compound annual rate of 6 to 8 percent through 2030 — faster than any personal luxury goods category, including leather goods and jewelry (both 5 to 7 percent) and watches (3 to 5 percent). In the U.S., the world’s largest luxury market at roughly $130 billion, hotels and fine dining are expected to drive overall luxury growth.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on Luxury Travel Advisor.
