Fine Jewelry Tops Holiday-Season Wish List in Survey of Luxury Consumers

Luxury consumers are jazzed about the upcoming holiday season, with increased intention to dress up, travel and buy gifts — especially fine jewelry — according to the latest Saks Luxury Pulse survey.

Exactly 82% of the luxury consumers who are celebrating the holidays plan to spend the same or more on holiday shopping compared to the 2023 holiday season. That's seven percentage points higher than last year. And 85% expected to be highly engaged in the shopping experience.

The top gifts that luxury consumers want to receive are fine jewelry (especially among women), clothing (especially among men) and experiences (favored by all respondents).

The holiday season also presents a time for self-gifting, especially among luxury consumers, with 61% planning to buy gifts for themselves.

According to the Saks Luxury Pulse, luxury consumers are beginning their shopping earlier this holiday season.

Exactly 70% of luxury consumers plan to start their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving this year, a 14 percentage point increase from last year. This is likely attributed to this year’s shorter holiday shopping season.

Millennial respondents (born 1981 to 1996) plan to begin their holiday shopping slightly later than respondents of the Generation X (born 1965 to 1980), Baby Boomer (born 1946 to 1964) and Silent Generations (born 1928 to 1945).

Due to their desire for convenience and distain for crowds, the majority of luxury consumers (64%) reported that they prefer to shop online for the holidays, and this is especially true for Millennials (70%). However, when shopping for fine jewelry and home décor, luxury consumers prefer to shop in person, underscoring the importance of a seamless cross-channel experience.

Demonstrating the heightened level of excitement for this holiday season, 66% of luxury consumers said they will get into the holiday spirit, with 24% planning to do so even more than they did last year.

-- 75% of Generation X respondents said they plan to decorate their home for their holidays, 16 percentage points more than Millennial respondents.

-- 77% of luxury consumers plan to attend a holiday party or gathering this holiday season, 11 percentage points more than last holiday season.

-- When going out and celebrating, 62% said they plan to dress up, with 23% of those planning to dress up even more than they did last year.

-- More than half of respondents (53%) said they are planning to travel this holiday season, and, of those, 31% are planning to travel more than they did last year.

This season's Saks Luxury Pulse survey reflects an increasingly upbeat outlook among luxury consumers.

When it comes to their personal finances, 70% of luxury consumers said they feel optimistic, an increase of six percentage points compared to last year, and 68% said they feel calm, a slight increase of one percentage point compared to last year.

The greatest increase in optimism and calmness towards the economy was among respondents of the Baby Boomer and Silent Generations, which saw a 13 percentage point increase in optimism and a five percentage point increase in calmness year over year.

The Saks Luxury Pulse is a quarterly online survey of luxury consumers’ attitudes towards shopping, spending and the economy. It is based on responses from 1,196 U.S.-based luxury consumers over the age of 18 and was fielded from October 11-15, 2024.

Credit: Image by BigStockPhoto.com.