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Luxury Spending: U.S. Is Back On Top; Jewelry Leads Accessories Category Growth

New York, NY—The Americas have unseated China as the leading growth area for luxury spending, according to Bain & Co.’s 2013 worldwide luxury market study. Growth in luxury spending in the Americas—including the United States—is expected to be 4% higher in 2013 than 2012, while the predicted growth for China this year is only 2.5%.

Globally, growth is expected to be 2% over last year, says Bain, but this figure is somewhat deceptive. At constant exchange rates—which this year was not—growth in luxury spending would be 6%.

Much of the growth in the United States is coming from luxury expansion in second-tier cities, says the report. In terms of actual spending numbers, though, Europe still outpaces the Americas as the world’s number-one luxury market (with special emphasis on Italian brands). Total revenues for Europe for 2013 are expected to be approximately $100 billion, vs. $93.2 billion in the Americas.

Jewelry and leather goods are the leading growth categories for luxury accessories, with each predicting 5% growth in spending for 2013 over 2012 figures. But when watches are added—at 1% growth—it means products that jewelers carry are leading the entire luxury accessories category with 6% growth.

But while watches aren’t posting significant growth this year, they do account for a much higher total of all luxury accessories spending. Bain estimates the total spent on luxury jewelry in 2013 is roughly $17.5 billion globally, and the total spent on watches is roughly $48.6 billion. Leather goods, apparel, cosmetics and fragrances also outpace jewelry in terms of total spend, but are showing far less growth in the market.

Read an excerpt of the Bain report here.

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