Wednesday, 18th January 2006 (3936 views)

Sales of luxury goods rose during 2005, according to Unity Marketing.

The company's president Pam Danziger said in a speech to the US National Retail Federation's (NRF) annual convention that average purchases of luxuries rose by 3.8 per cent during 2005 to $52,588.

While spending on luxury items for the home fell by 4.6 per cent, personal luxury spending on items such as fashion, jewellery, wine and spirits picked up the slack by growing by 5.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, the luxury leisure sector, which includes travel, entertainment and beauty services, doubled in size during 2005 with the average wealthy household spending $22,746.

Ms Danziger added that near affluent households were now buying goods at the "same rate" as "super-affluent" homes, "only they are spending less."

"It's the difference between buying last season's Coach bag in the Coach outlet store, as compared with the latest Dolce & Gabbana number at Saks Fifth Avenue. Both are luxurious to the individual consumer," she said.

"That is another key trend in the luxury market today -- The consumer is the final arbiter of what is luxury, not the manufacturer, the designer, or the retailer."

 

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