The phenomenon can be observed all over the world. Affected by the economic climate and inclined to adopt new behaviors, consumers are turning away from material purchases in favor of experiences. Beyond simply selling high-margin products or services, could immersive experiences be the lifeline for major luxury brands? During its phygital event LUXperience(S) on October 2—in person at the Pavillon Elysée in Paris and livestreamed on our platforms—LUXUS+ Club, in partnership with IFOP, Valtech, ISG Luxury Program, and Paris Packaging Week, will attempt to identify these exceptional experiences that will redefine the luxury of tomorrow.
LUXperience(s) was born out of the observation of weak signals: the slowdown in luxury, which is reflected in a “luxury fatigue” well known to industry experts. But the gloomy economic context is also combined with the sometimes contradictory expectations of Generation Z and the rising demands of luxury customers.
After the splendor of 2023, 2024 brought major changes for the luxury market. For the first time, large groups saw their pace slow significantly due to a widespread crisis, but also and above all to a gradual but profound change in purchasing behavior in the luxury sector. Faced with limited purchasing power and an uncertain future, consumers are increasingly turning to experiential luxury and travel, jewelry, and cosmetics. At least, that is what emerges from the latest report by Bain & Company.
In 2024, total luxury sales reached $1.478 trillion, down 2% from $1.5 trillion in 2023. In the personal luxury goods segment alone, which includes fashion, leather goods, jewelry, watches, and beauty, the market declined by 1.6% to €363 billion. But a closer look at the breakdown of spending reveals that some categories performed much better than others. The Bain & Company report shows how consumers have shifted their spending toward experiential luxury, moving away from ostentatious purchases and favoring “travel experiences and social events, with a focus on personal services and treatments and well-being rather than consumerism,” according to Claudia D’Arpizio, partner at Bain & Company and co-author of the global luxury market report.
According to the expert, “We are seeing a very significant shift from product to experience. The emotional aspect is playing an increasingly important role. Spending on experiences is growing much faster than spending on luxury goods. This is now a fundamental trend.”
The wealthiest customers are indeed the most likely to opt for high-end experiences involving travel and hotel stays. This is referred to as “trading material goods for memories.”
Luxury brands have understood this well and are now using hotels, cafés, restaurants, spas and treatments, cruises, residences, and events as their platforms of expression.It is this phenomenon of transmutation of brand attachment that we will examine in the second part of this article. In this first part, we will look at the evolution of the unique in-store experience, which for the past thirty years has been based on displays, demonstrations, and advice focused primarily on exceptional products.
To do so, we must first recall that for several months now, a quiet chorus has been growing louder: that of “luxury fatigue”, referring to wealthy customers who question the exclusivity and rarity of luxury, while aspirational customers question the value for money of certain products. Faced with this paradigm shift, and to justify the surge in prices, one thing remains clear: a luxury brand must pamper its customers and nurture their experience at every point of contact. This is essential for attracting new customers and building long-term loyalty.
Exclusive experience in luxury retail: a fragile holy grail
Borrowed from the Latin experientia, derived from experiri, “to try,” the concept of experience implies a certain freedom of action, experimentation, and therefore something connected to individual memory. It is therefore not necessarily complete or fully conscious and, moreover, etymologically includes a certain unpredictability.
This is sometimes difficult to grasp for a sector that prides itself on guaranteeing excellence in execution and effortlessly transporting its customers through the twists and turns of its history and collections. For luxury, an experience is made up of a moment, rituals, and certain touches.
For any self-respecting luxury player, the challenge is not only to bring magic to the store and online, but also to be able to offer a moment suspended in time that is both personalized and adaptable to the context, the market, and the visitor’s profile.
The experience itself thus reflects the major tensions currently existing between mass production, globalization, and exclusivity.
However, the wealthiest customers have expressed their dissatisfaction with the experience offered to them in the latest Frog Capgemini Invent study: only 78% said they were very satisfied or satisfied.
Those who were disappointed cited a lack of personalization in digital communications, stores that were too noisy and not intimate enough, and insufficient customer recognition.
This disappointing experience, coupled with a continuous rise in prices that is not reflected in the innovative nature or quality of the materials used, has resulted in the loss of 50 million customers in two years, according to the latest annual Bain-Altagamma study.
The phenomenon is all the more difficult to curb as candidates for careers in retail are becoming scarce. Yet it is these sales advisors or ambassadors in contact with the public who make all the difference with their little touches, empathy, and listening skills.
The luxury experience cannot be purely transactional: it is essentially extra-commercial and relational. With it, it is impossible to cheat.
LUXperience(s): Experts to answer your questions
On October 2, LUXUS+ Club has decided to organize, in collaboration with its partners, a series of conferences entirely devoted to the foundations and developments of the customer experience in luxury. In addition to presenting an exclusive study, the result of an exclusive partnership between Sociovision (Ifop Group) and LUXUS+, the event will bring together numerous experts from the sector, from major brands such as Louis Vuitton, consulting and tech companies such as Valtech, and event organizers such as Paris Packaging Week. There will also be players from the world of education, such as ISG Luxury Program, and innovation, such as Heuritech.
LUXperience(s) will offer a morning of exploration of the challenges of acquisition, transmission, and loyalty in the luxury sector in light of the latest innovations in the industry. As our columnist Rémi le Druillenec (Héroïne) pointed out in our columns: “People no longer just come to buy (in a luxury store): they come to immerse themselves, to understand, to feel.”
Join this exclusive event now and gain a deeper understanding of the ins and outs of the luxury customer experience by clicking here.
Important: This phygital conference is reserved for Luxus+ premium subscribers. If you are not yet a subscriber but would like to join the community of change makers working to promote luxury excellence, click here to join the Luxus+ Club and receive your free invitation.
Practical information
LUXperience(S)
October 2, 2025
From 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
In person at the Pavillon Elysée and livestreamed on our platforms
By registration only
Click here for more information.
Featured photo: © Creative Commons
