After more than 25 years of robust and largely continuous growth, the global luxury industry is undergoing structural change and facing major challenges. Traditional growth drivers — including internationalisation, retail expansion, category and line extensions, home shopping and delivery — are losing momentum. At the same time, the industry’s broader environment is changing due to shifts in consumer behaviour, climate change and ESG requirements, substitutive innovations, and new geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions. What positive and negative scenarios could emerge for the luxury industry, and how can companies prepare for them proactively at both the strategic and operational levels?
Taking a long-term view of the future of luxury marketing, this issue brings together perspectives from academia and practice on the following topics:
- The customer of the future: consumer needs and behaviours, target groups and segments, and socio-demographic and psychological profiles.
- Future growth potential for the luxury industry in the face of increasing competition — and how marketing can help unlock it.
- The value proposition of luxury in the future from the perspective of consumers and other stakeholders, including the functions and identities associated with luxury offerings.
- Possible scenarios for the luxury industry in 2040, including value chains, established and emerging countries of origin and sales markets, companies, brands, sales categories, and margins.
- The consequences of social change for future luxury consumption and how marketing should respond to developments such as ESG, the democratisation of luxury, and demographic change.