LUXURY BEHAVIOURS ONLINE
Aspiration versus reality
LUXURY BEHAVIOURS ONLINE
Aspiration versus reality
LUXURY BEHAVIOURS ONLINE
Aspiration versus reality
Luxury in the digital age
Our analysis suggests that ostentatious luxury and expensive possessions are not a universal sign of success in the UK: just 10% of people enjoy possessing expensive items and taking part in behaviours that display their wealth. This reticence and preference for discretion is replicated in behaviour online. Using our Ipsos iris platform – the industry endorsed gauge of what people in the UK are doing online – we see that visits to luxury websites are similarly limited. In July 2023, 3.4 million UK adults aged 15+ visited luxury brands and stores online – accounting for just 7% of the 49 million people who visited an online retailer that month.
“Ostentatious luxury and expensive possessions are not a universal sign of success in the UK... just
of people enjoy possessing expensive items and taking part in behaviours that display their wealth.”
We might assume that this is due to luxury being exclusively enjoyed by the wealthy, however, Ipsos iris data tells a more complex story: visitors to luxury websites and apps are bunched at either end of the income distribution. It is people with the lowest levels of income who are most likely to visit online luxury brands. Individuals earning under £5,000 a year were 31% more likely to visit luxury retail sites and apps compared with the overall online population. We find this group are predominantly younger, with 68% of them aged 15-24, and are four times more likely to be in full time education compared to the overall population of internet users. This group closely approximates the “strivers” we outline in a previous chapter of this report, as well as describing some of the key characteristics of people who are more likely to admit they are jealous of others’ success.
“Luxury appears to be more about keeping up with trends... celebrities influence their purchase decisions.”
The second group of luxury brand online visitors are those earning over £50,000, who are 14% more likely to have visited luxury apps and websites compared with the overall average. When we look at the attitudes of the two groups, the interest in luxury appears to be a case of aspiration versus reality. High income visitors are 55% more likely to agree they wear designer clothes compared to those on the lowest income, while they are nine times more likely to say they buy new products before most of their friends. This group are more likely to possess the interest and resources to live a luxury lifestyle.
For visitors from the lower-income group, luxury appears to be more about keeping up with trends. They are over five times more likely than the average to say that celebrities influence their purchase decisions and twice as likely to say they like to keep up with the latest fashions. They are aspiring to mirror celebrities and trends.
Speaking to aspirations and reality
This divergence presents a challenge to luxury brands. The richer group are clearly the customers of today; catering to their interests and needs should provide an immediate return. Yet the lower-income group may be customers of tomorrow who may provide a return on investment over the years to come. Further, luxury purchasers are becoming younger which makes this second group more important still.
How can brands speak to both consumer groups? The channels they use could be key to finding the right audience and the right messaging. Given their younger skew, Ipsos iris data shows that lower-income luxury visitors are 85% more likely to be heavy social network users compared with their high income counterparts, while high earners are over four times more likely to be heavy news visitors.
The two groups also have different visitation behaviours: lower-income visitors are 33% more likely to be heavy visitors of careers sites – meaning they are in the top 20% for browsing the category – while high income visitors are more likely to be heavy visitors of homes and property (+39%) and automotive (+31%) compared to luxury visitors on the lowest income.
Making use of the large differences in channel and interests of these two contrasting groups is the path to being able to maintain the interest of the consumers of today and tomorrow.
“Ipsos iris data shows that lower income luxury visitors are
more likely to be heavy social network users compared with their high income counterparts, while high earners are over four times more likely to be heavy news visitors.”
