Luxury Purchases Increased by 23% After COVID-19... Baby Boom Generation Also 'Flexing'

Lotte Members Publishes 'Lime Luxury Consumption Trend Report'
Luxury Sales Increased in 2020-2021 Compared to 2018-2019
Highest Growth Rates Among 20s, 50s, and 60s Age Groups

Lotte Members, 'Lime Luxury Consumption Trend Report'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] It has been revealed that domestic consumers' luxury goods purchases increased by 23% after COVID-19.

Lotte Members announced this through the 'Lime Luxury Consumption Trend Report' published on the 15th.

According to Lotte Members' transaction data analysis, luxury goods sales increased by 23.0% in 2020-2021 compared to 2018-2019, before the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

By age group, compared to 2018, luxury purchases increased the most among those in their 20s (70.1%), followed by those in their 50s (62.8%), 30s (54.8%), 60 and older (41.3%), and 40s (19.2%).

A survey conducted by the research platform Lime from November 22 to December 3 last year targeting 600 luxury buyers showed that the top luxury purchase channel (including multiple responses) was department stores (42.6%). Other responses included premium outlets (18.3%), brand stores (13.3%), luxury specialty platforms (12.2%), duty-free shops (11.1%), online general malls (10.8%), portal shopping pages (9.5%), overseas direct purchase sites (8.8%), select shops (7.2%), and brand online malls (7.1%).

Luxury specialty platforms, which were not included in the 2019 survey, ranked 4th in this survey, confirming the growth of the online luxury market. On the other hand, the response rate for duty-free shops, which were heavily affected by COVID-19, slightly decreased (-5.7 percentage points).

When considering important attributes for luxury purchases, design was still ranked first, but the response rate (-12.5 percentage points) decreased somewhat compared to the 2019 survey. Instead, responses increased for brand popularity (4.8 percentage points), collectible value (4.7 percentage points), and resale price (3.3 percentage points). This is interpreted as consumers recognizing luxury goods as a means of financial investment due to the activation of secondhand trading and resale.

Geunsoo Kim, Head of Data Business Division at Lotte Members, explained, "As the COVID-19 situation prolongs, revenge consumption is increasing, and the luxury market boom continues due to trends like the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) 'flex' trend. Not only the 20s and 30s but also middle-aged and older consumers with strong purchasing power have noticeably increased luxury consumption, and purchase channels are diversifying across online and offline."

Meanwhile, the Lime Report is produced and distributed to provide insights to Lotte Members' partners, comprehensively covering big data and small data. Lotte Members' big data is collected across all distribution channels including department stores, marts, supermarkets, convenience stores, outlets, duty-free shops, and electronics retailers, encompassing behavioral data of 41.3 million L.Point and L.Pay members (as of the end of December 2021), as well as payment, product, channel, location, franchise, and brand data.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.