American Affluence reserach Center

What's Happening In The Luxury Market? The Latest Research Provides Contradictory Clues

I have written before on luxury trends derived from American Affluence Center's substantive research. Twice a year, this group publishes a detailed summary of the state of the luxury bandwidth. I discussed the Spring 2010's results, and below are those of Fall 2010. Not dismal, but still, fiscal security and happiness seem like distant visions. Here are a few highlights of the Fall 2010 Affluent Market Tracking Study, #18, as well as some controversial results from Unity Marketing, and Bain & Co. These results and trends are diverse, arguable, and contradictory, pretty much mirroring the state of our economy right now.

The American Affluence Center's report is based on the responses from 439 men and women who promptly responded to their survey and meet the minimum net worth requirement of $800,000. Their households have an average annual income of $290,000, an average net worth of $3.1 million, average investable assets of $1.7 million, and an average primary residence value of $1.1 million. The underlining below is mine, which may define an important future trend.

• The index for future business conditions is 22 points below the prior Spring survey index and 30 points below the Fall 2009 survey. Given the low rating of current business conditions, this future index is relatively negative, as it reflects an expectation of limited improvement from a poor starting point.

• The index for change in the stock market is 14 points below the prior Spring survey index and 33 points below the Fall 2009 survey. The current index reflects a 3 point decline in the "higher" rating and a 12 point increase in the "lower" rating. The "same" rating was 8 points lower. These ratings seem to suggest an expectation that the market will be largely unchanged 12 months out.

Tags: American Affluence reserach Center, Bain Co., Last Call brand, LUXURY GOODS WORLDWIDE MARKET STUDY, Luxury Marketing Council, luxury trends 2010, luxury trends 2011, Millennials, Neiman Marcus, Pam Danziger, Unity Marketing