True-Luxury Global Consumer Insights 2026
For the 12th edition of True-Luxury Global Consumer Insights, BCG and Altagamma partnered to explore the current and emerging landscape of the luxury sector, uncovering the factors driving growth and the opportunities ahead.
This year, the annual quantitative consumer survey is unique in its scale and scope for 2026, collecting and analyzing the views of more than 10,000 True-Luxury respondents, compiling insight and intelligence across 100+ questions put to top-tier and aspirational buyers. Each year sees the survey expanding in terms of sources and tools, and now leverages GenAI to enable enriched findings on consumer purchase drivers and spending decisions
The research agenda was shaped by the members of BCGxAltagamma Advisory Board, that shared the topics keeping them up at night; their priorities became the backbone of this year's report.
The big picture is that personal luxury is back on track: in fact, growth for FY26 is expected at 2-5% CAGR, moving to 4-7% by 2029, with luxury now built on healthier and more balanced foundations than during the ‘rebound and reset’ years following the pandemic.
Luxury is back, and growth is restarting from a healthier base. Taking a brand’s perspective, this is what a healthier base will look like:
- The share of aspirational consumers in the revenue mix moves from ~70% in 2016 to ~50% in the next cycle, more balanced towards the top tier & absolute consumer.
- One-time buyers decline from ~60% to ~40% of the customer base, as the sector shifts from acquisition to retention.
- The mix of traditional personal luxury categories rebalances from ~80% toward ~60%, reflecting a broader consumer move from pure wardrobe investment toward lifestyle and experiential luxury.
- Cross-border sales, historically boosted by tourist spending, rebalance from ~50% to below 30%, as wealth-driven domestic purchasing becomes the structural engine of demand.
TOP-TIER DRIVES GROWTH, ASPIRATIONAL CONSUMERS STABILIZE
Top-tier clients have proven to be a constant growth engine over the past ten years, rising from 14% to 24% in share of spend, uncorrelated to macro-cycles. Aspirational consumers, by contrast, have been the source of almost all the market's volatility over recent years, and this year the free-fall is finally slowing down.
WHY CONSUMERS BUY: FROM SHOWING OFF TO FEELING BETTER
When we asked our respondents to rank the key drivers behind their most recent purchase in luxury, they clearly indicated that product is still king. The top three purchase drivers were Design & Aesthetics, Craftsmanship & Quality of Execution, and Timelessness & Lasting Appeal - emphasizing the centrality of quality and product, across all levels of aspiration and wealth. However, by way of striking contrast, Logo Visibility was named as the least important factor across all product categories, confirming that overt brand signaling is no longer a key value.
Another key fact to emerge was a lack of knowledge shown by many consumers for the identity of a brand’s Creative Director. This is particularly pronounced among the aspirational segment, with 56% telling us they usually do not know, or may barely know, the name of the creative director who sets the aesthetic vision for the brands they buy.
However, the situation is very different among the top tier, where 70% of consumers are informed, and one in four specifically choose a brand because of its creative director. Additionally, 15% of these consumers said they had stopped buying from a brand due to a change in creative direction that they felt was not satisfying.
Price rejection is becoming structural and not tier-specific: 70% of consumers walked away from a purchase because they felt the price was unjustified. Encouragingly, these consumers are not lost - more than 50% remain within the brand or the luxury sector, switching to a different product from the same brand or moving to a competitor. For brands, the implication is clear: price strategy and merchandising grid architecture require a rigorous review, without losing sight of the craftsmanship and product quality that consumers across all segments have confirmed as the non-negotiable foundation of what luxury means to them.
AL IS HERE TO STAY FOR LUXURY - IT’S MORE THAN AN EXPERIMENT
15 years ago, online purchase funnels fundamentally disrupted the traditional luxury retail model and transformed the consumer journey, as luxury moved from store-only to digital-first. The years from 2010 onwards saw their share of technological hype outbreaks that subsequently faded - from gamification and digital collectibles to the Metaverse - but the recent AI and GenAI explosion promises lasting innovation on a scale as massive as the shift to online.
Today, AI and GenAl are of course the major technological trends, already crossing the consumer adoption threshold at incredible speed. The survey asked:
- Are luxury consumers using GenAI in their personal lives?
- Do they use it to research luxury, and trust it as a source?
- Does it affect their awareness, perception and purchase intent alongside seven concrete GenAI use cases across client-facing brand domains?
LUXURY CONSUMERS BRING GENAI INTO THEIR CONSIDERATION JOURNEY
The findings show that consumers are already AI and GenAI-literate in their personal lives, with 87% using it weekly and as many as 40% daily. Of these, around 80% are already using it to research luxury. The survey also found they are asking for recommendations and then comparing options - marking a real shift in how consumers conduct research across personal and experiential categories.
Widespread adoption is one thing; however, trust is another. Respondents indicate that AI/GenAI tools have already earned a level of credibility that goes well beyond what the industry would expect: with a net trust score of 29pp, ranking fourth among the main information sources for luxury, already on a par with traditional web search, and more surprisingly, almost level with word of mouth.
Moreover, AI/GenAI are trusted at roughly twice the level of social media/influencers, with only a brand's own website ranking higher, at 42pp. Consumers perceive AI/GenAI as more neutral and unbiased than social channels, with the absence of sponsored content playing a role as a meaningful differentiator. This trust premium is still at an early stage, but it is meaningful for brands willing to engage with AI/GenAI as a genuine channel rather than an experiment. Brands risk being late to the party if they fail to act soon: opportunities exist already, and there are many areas that show high potential at the same time as very low resistance from consumers. These can be taken as a starting point.
GENAI INVOLVEMENT IS ALREADY EXPECTED BY CONSUMERS IN MOST DOMAINS
To move beyond adoption and trust, seven concrete AI/GenAI use cases were tested across client-facing brand domains, measuring consumer awareness, brand perception, and purchase intent. The report found high levels of acceptance by consumers: in fact, 62% of consumers now expect AI/GenAl assistance or involvement across key luxury use cases, while 83% say they will perceive a brand positively or the same if they discover it is using AI/GenAl. Additionally, 77% said they would keep buying from a brand that uses AI or/and GenAl, and only one in five remain uncertain: as is common with any new technology, the headline can hide the nuances.
After-sales support, experiential clienteling, and product design meet with essentially no consumer resistance. AI and GenAI-generated product and still-life imagery for digital channels also enjoyed very little objection, with purchase intent remaining high.
The more sensitive territory are AI-generated advertising campaigns and personalized clienteling messages from a client advisor, where pockets of resistance emerge, concentrated almost entirely among boomer consumers in Western markets. The implication is not that brands should avoid these use cases, but will need to approach them with a de-averaged strategy. For content, the lever is education and transparency, helping consumers understand the value AI/GenAI brings to the creative process. With regard to clienteling, the lever is trust - demonstrating that AI and GenAI enhance rather than replaces the human relationship at the heart of luxury service.
CONCLUSION
While consumers are already AI and GenAI-literate and ready, the industry has not kept the pace: 60% of fashion and luxury companies are still in an emerging stage of AI maturity. Significant value creation opportunities can be captured even within domains that show (very) low customer resistance to AI/GenAI and that can become the natural starting point for the brands.