5 key learnings from the MRS luxury research conference

Last week I attended the MRS Luxury research conference. Speakers from Luxury product and service brands, as well as experts in the field gave fantastic talks and sessions on the marketplace and the consumer. Here are my key takeaways on where the industry is going.

1. Looking to the east
The eastern market is the largest growing segment for luxury goods and services. Understanding the eastern consumer is fundamental to successfully launching and competing in the east.

2. Welcoming new generations
Luxury business is looking to new money individuals to grow their market share as the establishment ages. From ‘tattoos to tiaras’ luxury services are widening their appeal and distancing themselves from ‘historical snobism’. Understanding new money and millennial millionaires is crucial to widening this appeal.

Reinforcing Diamonds as Symbols of Love for Millennials — Diana Mitkov, De Beers Group

3. Bespoke service
The ultra high net worth sector revolves around service, when paying a premium customers expect their every whim to be catered for. This still centres on human contact but utilising data to analyse and predict behaviour is a big area to explore.

4. Status to Substance
Traditionally the luxury market has centred on prestigious brands with history. In the current social climate consumers are increasingly looking to advocate brands that display more than just wealth. Values such as sustainable, fair-trade and local hold social currency and brands that embody these publically appeal. Greater understanding of Gen Z trends is crucial to predicting what matters in appealing to them.

‘The L Word’: The 60-minute guide to building brands for the new connoisseurs — Rebecca Wright, MASH Strategy Studio

5. In the know
Enabling customers to stay ahead of trends and be the one ‘in-the-know’ is incredibly valuable to those who can afford everything. Knowledge is also a form of social currency that can empower consumers. Creating networks and VIP channels that inform key clients of trends can act as a key point of difference.

These trends undoubtedly carry across all consumer markets, not just luxury products and services. It will be really interesting to see how the luxury brands iterate and the mass market interpretations.