Luxury Tracking Webinar Trend Update: 5-23-2013

Latest Luxury Tracking Survey Shows Affluent Consumers Express a Restrained Outlook on Luxury Spending

You are invited to attend a webinar May 23 where results of the latest Luxury Consumer Tracking Survey will be reviewed and strategies for growth explored with a focus on marketers, notably Lincoln Motor Company, Kering (formerly PPR), Ralph Lauren, and Coach, that have found success despite customers' cautious outlook

Unity Marketing's latest measure of affluent consumer confidence shows that their expectations for future luxury spending are stalled at current low levels, with the average amount spent on luxury goods and services during the first quarter 2013 tracked at the lowest levels seen during the last two years. Fewer than one-fourth of luxury consumers surveyed said they expected to spend more on luxury in the next twelve months, while over half expect to spend the same. This based upon the most recent luxury tracking survey conducted by Unity Marketing among 1,269 luxury consumers (average income $264.3k) from April 9-15, 2013.

With demand for luxury goods and services stalled in the first quarter 2013, luxury marketers must be at the top of their competitive game to generate growth

"Affluents are keeping their heads down and conserving cash in the current uncertain economic environment. They will need extra incentives to encourage them to spend," says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and lead researcher on the quarterly Luxury Tracking Study. "The survey found that spending on luxury goods and services during the first quarter 2013 were off by nearly 20 percent from fourth quarter 2012. What is even more troubling is the typically high-spending ultra-affluent segment (top 2 percent of U.S. households by income, starting at $250,000) were primarily responsible for the pull back in spending. The HENRYs (high earners not rich yet, with incomes $100k-$249.9k), on the other hand, spent slightly more in the first quarter than they did fourth quarter 2012. A pull back in luxury spending will be especially challenging for heritage luxury brands, as compared with more accessible and affordable premium brands."

Commenting on the results of the latest survey, Tom Bodenberg, chief consumer economist for Unity Marketing, said, "While one would think that stock market gains should translate readily into greater appetites for discretionary purchases, it appears that consumers may be hoarding cash - just like corporations do. Further, employers and investors are still unsure as to the impact of Obamacare on their bottom lines, let alone to the outcomes of legal challenges to Obamacare in various states. Therefore, expansion (typified by greater hiring) is put on hiatus."

"Marketers will need to innovate in the current stalled luxury market. To generate growth they need to tap new customer segments, deliver new marketing messages through new marketing media, and present new product offerings. And above all marketers need to position their luxury goods and services as a value proposition for the customers," Danziger says.

Luxury Marketers: Take Action>>

Unity Marketing will host a 45 minute webinar at noon Thursday May 23 e.d.t. to review the results of the latest Luxury Tracking Survey and what the Luxury Consumption Index projects for the next six months.

In addition, Danziger will profile the strategies of notable luxury brands that have taken initiative to go beyond their traditional 'comfort zone' in marketing to generate strong results. Among the brands she will profile are Lincoln Motor Company, Kering (formerly PPR), Ralph Lauren, and Coach. The webinar will also explore specific ways to position one's brand as a value proposition in the new luxury economy.

Do you have questions about the luxury consumers? Unity Marketing has answers.

In the webinar reviewing Unity Marketing's latest luxury tracking survey, Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury will announce:

• The latest LCI and what it predicts for the rest of 2013?
• What sectors in the luxury market are trending up? What sectors are facing a headwind that may depress sales?
• Key trends in luxury consumer spending and purchases in the 21 luxury categories included in the luxury tracking survey, specifically:
• Home Luxuries (furniture, art, linens, tabletop, home electronics and more)
• Personal Luxuries (fashion, fashion accessories, beauty, wine & spirits, jewelry & watches)
• Experiences, such as travel, dining, spa services and physician services) and
• Automobiles
• What's hot, what's not in luxury today in affluents customers' preferences for products, brands, stores, shopping destinations?

The webinar will about 45 minutes and is recorded for your convenience. Subscription fee for the webinar is $350 and covers an unlimited number of attendees at your site. Subscribers will also receive a copy of the detail slides used in the presentation. The recorded webinar will be stored through June 23, so you can hear the talk again. Finally, your subscription fee can be applied as credit toward the purchase of any Unity Marketing report.