How can we continue to inspire dreams in a world where luxury has never been more visible and accessible?
At Crafted for Luxury, the immersive event organized by Snapchat, Snap, WPP Media, and the Ifop Group, the initial findings of their international study , “The New Age of Luxury: Designing Desire in an Age of Paradox, ” were unveiled. The study surveyed 9,000 luxury consumers aged 18 to 45 across nine markets.
This study highlights the paradoxes that are currently redefining consumer expectations and their relationship with luxury brands.
A More Personal Kind of Luxury, a Desire to Be Reinvented
While 78% of consumers say that luxury inspires them to dream, 65% believe it has lost some of its exceptional character.
Luxury is evolving: once a symbol of social status, it is increasingly becoming a personal experience, associated with self-expression, emotions, and individual values.
Desire also builds over time: 79% of respondents believe that regular interactions with a brand fuel their desire more than large, one-time campaigns.
Between social influence and close-knit circles
While social media plays a major role in discovering luxury, decisions are increasingly made in the private sphere.
81% of consumers say that the opinions of people they trust reinforce their choices. Desire is thus fueled in the public sphere but validated through personal interactions.
At the same time, immersive technologies are opening up new possibilities: 54% of consumers say they are willing to make a purchase or a buying decision after an augmented reality experience.
Understanding the Paradoxes of Tomorrow’s Luxury
Led in particular by Sarah Laurier and the teams at the Ifop Group, this study combines cultural, sociological, and quantitative insights to decipher the sector’s transformations.
Visibility and privacy, technology and human connection, accessibility and uniqueness: these are all tensions that luxury brands must now reconcile to maintain their desirability.
A key insight is emerging: in the luxury sector, the challenge is no longer simply to capture attention, but to build a lasting relationship, from discovery to the purchase decision.
