European consumers buy luxury predominantly because of quality. More than 92% of consumers cite this as their main reason for shopping these brands, far ahead of the many other attributes associated with luxury brands, such as brand reputation (63.2%) and fashionableness (42.3%), the latest RetailX Europe Luxury 2024 report has found.
That said, 50% of consumers do believe that the enduring value of these items is also a good enough reason to splash out on luxury, cementing the view that shoppers are increasingly seeing buying luxury as something of an investment in timeless fashion.
Similarly, these shoppers also see luxury as having a significant resale value – something that has become a driver of the European luxury market, with shoppers looking to invest in more unusual and even unique items, but with a view to potentially reselling them down the line.
This is also a factor driving the growing market for second-hand luxury, itself fuelled and fuelling the rise of sustainability in the sector and among consumers.
That said, consumers predominantly buy luxury items as gifts, with 37.8% doing this (presumably not then to resell them). This is driving the interactions consumers in Europe have with luxury brands. Gifting is considerably ahead of other reasons given for buying luxury online, such as seeing items on social media and clicking on offers.
However, interaction with luxury brands via social media – encompassing liking a product seen there, following a luxury brand, DM-ing a brand and even buying through social media – together add up to a much larger combined driver of interactions. This suggests that social media and social affirmation are key drivers for sales in the sector and worth exploring by brands as the key marketing channel at their disposal.
Why consumers choose the luxury brands that they do buy online reflects the same mores seen across ecommerce. Reliability is key for 72.8% of shoppers in Europe when buying luxury online, while product availability (60.8%) and easy returns (55.9%) are also important, more so than shopping experience (39.8%) and even the brand’s aesthetic (39.3%).
Interestingly, 55.4% of consumers are looking for discounts and offers when buying luxury. This points to the increasing interest in affordable luxury. While many are looking to find bargains in well-known – and often high-end – luxury goods, the desire for luxury at an affordable price is undeniable.
Retail in general is tapping into this, with outlet stores selling off-season luxury fashion, while marketplace sites that specialise in luxury and second-hand luxury such as Secret Sales and Vinted are capitalising on this hunger for bargain luxury items. Sites such as Depop are combining second-hand with the inherent resale value of luxury.
The cost of luxury is also seen as one of the biggest inhibitors to European consumers buying luxury, with two thirds (63.1%) of them saying that high prices are the biggest barrier to buying these items. This sits ahead of other key barriers such as finding a cheaper alternative.
On a positive note, however, only very few (1.7%) potential luxury shoppers cite bad customer experience as a reason that they don’t buy luxury, indicating that the efforts made in the sector to offer an excellent consumer experience is paying off.
This feature was authored by Paul Skeldon and originally appeared in the RetailX Europe Luxury 2024 report.
The report examines the growth in European luxury ecommerce that has plateaued, this however isn’t necessarily a sign of the market stalling, but more an indication it is evolving. The report uses the results of our ConsumerX data to analyse attitudes to what, why, where and how Europeans’ buy luxury goods.
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