(IDEX Online) - Luxury spending will fall by almost a quarter this year as coronavirus sees the sector contracting for the first time in over a decade.
Management consultants Bain & Co predict a 23 per cent drop in 2020, down by $257bn. Sales had been increasing year on year since 2009.
They say the industry is "on a path to recovery by 2022-2023".
Jewelry has seen sustained demand in Asia, and a significant increase in online sales, says the report. It "remains polarized with high jewelry and iconic entry priced items leading the recovery."
Sales of watches are down 30 per cent. "Covid-19 amplified the already critical secular consumption pattern shifts from the category," says the 19th edition of the Bain & Company Luxury Study, released in Milan last week.
E-commerce has protected all luxury retailers from more serious Covid damage.
"Online shopping for luxury goods has soared, doubling its share of the market to 23 percent in 2020 from 12 percent in 2019," says the report.
"The turmoil of Covid-19 has been the catalyst for change for the luxury industry, which is on a path to recovery by 2022-2023." ...