David Moin
5 min read
America’s luxury consumers are down on the economy — and that’s no surprise to Saks Global.
On Tuesday, the retailer detailed the results of the latest Saks Global Luxury Pulse survey to WWD, getting into the heads of luxury consumers. The survey found that optimism about the economy continues to decline, driven by economic uncertainty and market volatility.
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Fielded from April 24 to April 28, the Luxury Pulse indicated that America’s affluent have been affected by market volatility and flip-flopping tariffs, are worried about a possible recession and are increasingly discerning when spending on luxury. The quarterly survey gathered responses online from 1,248 U.S.-based luxury consumers over age 18 during a time when many of the tariffs in U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war had been paused, starting a 90-day period of negotiation.
Among luxury consumers, the top five concerns are the general social and political climate, a potential recession, personal financial security, stock market volatility and ongoing global conflict.
“We’ve been doing these surveys for a few years and this is another one of those market declines,” said Emily Essner, president and chief commercial officer of Saks Global. “This is a meaningful decline.”
But the situation isn’t entirely bad. “While we saw a decline in how consumers felt about the macro environment, we also saw optimism about their personal finances.” The luxury spending is more tied to how consumer feel about the macro environment, rather than their personal finances, she said.
In addition, “When we think about higher-income spenders, they are last in, first out,” Essner said, meaning, they’re the last group to put the reins on spending during challenging economic times, and the first to rev up their spending when the economy rebounds.
“There is still a desire to spend for moments that are special,” Essner said, referring to holidays, birthdays and other special occasions.
While the survey showed economic sentiments declining, Essner did suggest that attitudes could have changed for the better since the survey was taken in April. Saks’ next Luxury Pulse, to be taken during the summer, could tell a different story from the latest one.
“The most important thing is to understand where their heads are at,” Essner said. The Luxury Pulse, she said, is an important tool for that, helping Saks executives plan and forecast their business.
