Luxe Trends in 2022

"As we embark upon 2022, and as businesses work on bouncing back, we expect the very meaning of luxury will continue to evolve, becoming even more diversified and more customer-centric. Relevancy and authenticity are going to be the key drivers to captivate the affluent consumers and Luxury brands need to show more purpose and dynamism than before," says Gauri Kohli, Partner & Director - Luxury & Beauty, PR Pundit.

Experience is everything

Consumers around the world are fast demanding seamless experiences across-channel and brand experiences — online/virtual and on social media — will continue to play an increasingly important role in consumers’ purchase decisions.?The need of the hour is for brands to embrace creative digital experiences as an added layer to their products to engage their customers as in-person events and boutique experiences will remain constrained. This provides an opportunity for luxury brands willing to fully embrace the digital realm and meet their consumers where they are, online and to meet this digital native, new frontiers in the virtual world will unfold. At the crossroads of digital, gaming, AR, and VR and now the metaverse (a hybrid of the words meta and universe) represents another significant opportunity for luxury brands.???

The rise of resale for a circular economy

Resale is heating up in luxury! Tapping into an expanding demand from affluent consumers for a more circular economy and more conscious consumerism Millennials and Gen Z consumers not only see resale as an opportunity to get luxury brands at an affordable price but they are seeing resale as a convenient, sustainable replacement for fast fashion or to feed their interest in vintage goods. Luxury will become defined by its residual value, which can go up, as well as down due to scarcity, cult and promotion. In 2022 we will see this pre-owned/pre-loved luxury demand growing stronger and more re-commerce sites will emerge.

The X factor for Gen Y and Z: Brand ethics trump aesthetics

We are witnessing a generational shift where Millennials/Gen Y and Gen Z affluent customers will continue to assert their position as critical growth drivers for the luxury sector in 2022. We will witness more unexpected and cool collaborations such as Gucci x Balenciaga, Tiffany x Supreme which are testaments to the rising importance of these younger cohorts by legacy luxury brands. These digital natives also value authenticity and integrity from brands. Sustainability, in particular, cannot be an afterthought; it must be honest, transparent and backed by action consumers are increasingly paying attention to what brands are really doing, they will reject brands that do not display environmental commitment. Being more inclusive and more sustainable will be non-negotiable for luxury brands to remain relevant and win over Gen-Z fashion consumers.

Luxury brands will need to be agile and adapt to sharper social listening to localise their communication and captivate and win them over.