US Luxury Spending Down 11% in July, Says Citi

US consumers spent 11 percent less on luxury goods in July compared to the same month last year, Citi Research said Friday citing data from a panel of 10 million credit card-holders. The drop suggests further deterioration in luxury demand at the start of the third quarter: June’s credit card data showed a 7 percent drop.

Luxury leather goods and ready-to-wear were the categories most impacted by the slowdown, with sales falling by 19 percent and 15 percent respectively, Citi said. Jewellery was more resilient, registering a 6.5 percent drop. Luxury watchmakers were an unexpected bright spot, with sales growing by 10 percent, posting a double-digit increase for the first time since early 2022.”

The US economy seems to be deteriorating at a faster pace than previously expected. For lower-income consumers in particular, excess savings have eroded with inflation,” Citi’s analysts said in a note to clients. “For the past couple of years we have seen luxury demand weakness in entry-level categories usually targeting aspirational consumers, with sharp multi-year price increases posing a risk to volume growth.”

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