Global Luxury Spending hits €1.44T as Shoppers Trade “Stuff” for Experiences

Global luxury is holding its ground in 2025, but the market luxury brands thought they knew is being rewritten in real time. A new Bain & Company and Altagamma study shows that spending is stabilizing, even as consumers pivot sharply toward experiences, value channels and new regional hubs—and margins sink back to levels last seen in 2009. 

Global spending stabilizes, but growth cools

The study projects global luxury spending at about €1.44 trillion in 2025, essentially flat versus last year (roughly between -1% and +1% at constant exchange rates). That relative stability comes despite persistent economic and geopolitical uncertainty, suggesting demand at the top end remains structurally strong even as mid-tier shoppers pull back.

Within that total, personal luxury goods—the core fashion, leather goods, watches, jewelry, beauty and accessories categories—are forecast at around €358 billion in 2025, down about 2% at current exchange rates compared with €364 billion in 2024…