The Mass Affluent: The Art World’s Overlooked Market

When people think of art collectors, the picture that typically comes to mind is someone wealthy. This idea is further reinforced by industry reports that focus solely on high-net-worth individuals, defined as those with liquid assets of $1 million or more. But I contend there's an overlooked group of consumers who are sitting on the sidelines of the art world. This segment is the mass affluent. And it only makes sense to get these people into the art game.

First, a definition of terms. According to management consultancy Capgemini, the mass affluent are individuals with

investable assets in the range of US $100,000 to $1 million, accounted for about 11% of the overall global population in 2020, a healthy proportion of which are digitally engaged young professionals. They account for about 40% of global wealth, and are expected to replace the middle class as growth drivers in the coming decade. As per a report from Global Data Wealth Markets Analytics, the US mass affluent wealth band alone is expected to account for upwards of $US 47 trillion of wealth by 2025.

For the time being, I know more people like this than I do truly wealthy people. Specifically, I think of people who are, for example, married couples with advanced degrees (doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc.), and good jobs. They're thriving small business owners or they're at VP-level in mid- to large-sized corporations. I assume their household brings in $250,000-$400,000 annually. These people are undoubtedly able to start spending money on art. More importantly, I believe that more than a few of this 32 million-person cohort would become not just art buyers, but collectors.

The problem for them—and I've heard this from several people—is that they simply don't know where to start. Especially in a market like NYC where I live, there are an embarrassment of options: Roughly 1,400 galleries at last count across the five boroughs. Which one should these folks walk into? Guess what? They don't. One couple even told me directly that it was all too overwhelming, so they just bought art from Homegoods. Let that sink in.

Are these folks big-money collectors? Not yet. But some could be.

It'll be work, but galleries must bring as many "art-curious" people into their spaces as possible. It's a numbers game, since not everyone will become a full-on collector. But the numbers are there. Galleries must start building the marketing muscle and the orientation to begin engaging this audience.

It seems like a smarter use of effort and resources than chasing after the same wealthy individuals that other galleries are pursuing.