Chinese consumers will be top luxury clients in 2025: report

They would account for 40% to 45% of the global purchases.

Chinese consumers were expected to be the top clients for luxury goods in 2025 and would account for 40% to 45% of the global purchases, according to Bain & Company.

They will be followed by American consumers at 21% to 23%, Europeans at 16% to 18%, Japanese at 5% to 7%, rest of Asian at 10% to 1712%, and the rest of the world at 5% to 7%.

In 2019, Chinese consumers were the top customers with 33% of share in the global personal luxury goods market followed by Americans at 22%, and Europeans at 17%. Their share is estimated to have declined to 21% to 23% in 2021.

But per region, China’s share of global personal luxury goods markets in 2021 almost doubled in two years, estimated at 21% from 11% in 2019.

“We anticipate that the corresponding dip in the overall global spending by Chinese consumers will be reversed in the second half of 2022 or the first half of 2023 as tourist flows normalise,” Bain & Company said in its report From Surging Recovery to Elegant Advance: The Evolving Future of Luxury.

Bain & Company added that luxury went local “most dramatically” in mainland China and is expected to have grown by 36% to $67.8b (€60b) last year from 2020. 

Meanwhile, it said that Japan is estimated to have grown by 10% to $22.6b (€20b) in 2021 but is still below its 2019 performance, adding that the slow vaccination uptake held back local consumption.

The rest of Asia is expected to have returned to growth, increasing by 19% to reach $36.2b (€32b).

It said that the performance of Hong Kong remained weak and Taiwan and Macau had seen mixed results.

“South Korea regained its 2019 levels due to the repatriation of local customers’ spending, which more than compensated for the lack of tourism. Southeast Asia, meanwhile, continued to suffer from the dearth of tourists,” it said. 

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