New European and US research from TikTok and AYTM shows how the luxury market is evolving to adapt to younger generations with 70% of the luxury buyers on TikTok having spent over £1,000 on a single fashion item.
Reuters
The social media company spoke to over 3,000 adults across the UK, US, France and Italy and said that “younger consumers are helping luxury brands unlock growth”, and those brands “are using social platforms to reach new audiences and convince shoppers that their products are worth buying”.
TikTok said it “has become one of the fastest-growing channels for discovery, decision-making and direct purchase in luxury fashion”. That reflects broader industry patterns, with around two-thirds of those polled citing social media — rather than traditional offline media — as their entry point into the category.
The study summed it up saying that for first-time luxury buyers, “the journey no longer begins with a storefront, but with a scroll”.
TikTok users are more likely to discover luxury brands via social user-generated content (38%) and creator videos (32%) as creators help decode everything from craftsmanship and pricing, to fit and styling, “helping audiences navigate luxury with clarity and confidence”. In fact, 26% of TikTok luxury shoppers said they wait for creator reviews before buying, and a third (32%) discover brands through creators.
And it’s interesting that “the conversation continues in the comment section, with luxury buyers increasingly going there for validation, asking for authenticity checks, sizing advice and peer recommendations”. A 113% annual increase in comments on luxury fashion content “highlights how community discussion is becoming a crucial part of the decision-making process”.
The company said that while sales of global personal-luxury goods declined by 2% in 2023, Europe grew by 3% to an estimated €110 billion, “driven in part by younger consumers who are embracing luxury through digital-first channels”.
Some 15% of users “have purchased a luxury fashion item directly after seeing it on the platform, while many more save content, revisit it, and return ready to buy”.
We’re also told that one in four luxury shoppers now purchase second-hand items inspired by TikTok trends, while one in three act on personalised recommendations surfaced via creator content. “As Gen Z and Millennials — on track to control 60% of luxury spend by 2026 — prioritise transparency, identity and authenticity, TikTok has emerged as a key channel for luxury brands to tap into these priorities with audiences,” the company said.
And it’s interesting that 47% of its users now define luxury as a “form of self-expression, rather than status, associating it with empowerment and individuality”. Meanwhile 59% of luxury shoppers on the platform say their main reason for buying is to reward themselves. Hashtags like #selfgifting have seen a 110% surge in video views, “highlighting the emotional motivations driving this new mindset”.
Kristina Karassoulis, UK head of luxury at TikTok, said: “This research shows that what drives luxury purchases today isn’t polish — it’s proof. People want to hear from peers, not just brands. TikTok has become a place where credibility is built in the comments section and the path to purchase now runs through creators, conversations and community insight. It’s the spark that luxury brands can’t afford to ignore.”
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues its march to transform businesses’/consumers’ lives with customer advocacy platform Mention Me launching ‘AI Discovery IQ’, a free-to-use tool that “helps brands reach target consumers in the new age of generative AI search”.
Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP/Archives
It claims to allow brands to “instantly audit how discoverable they are within popular AI systems” such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity.
According to Mention Me, 62% of UK consumers now turn to generative AI tools for product recommendations, brand discovery and comparisons, “bypassing traditional search engines entirely [so] businesses are under pressure to respond to this behaviour change,” said the platform’s CEO Wojtek Kokoszka whose platform works with firms including Charlotte Tilbury, Huel and Puma, “helping marketing teams to boost consumer awareness and sales”.
With AI, it says the modern customer journey, powered by natural language prompts instead of outdated keyword strings, means consumers are 4.4 times more likely to convert if they find a brand through a large language model (LLM).
“The rise of ‘agent-mode’ assistants and AI-driven voice search has pushed brands into a new world of digital visibility. Despite this, most brands have little to no insight into how they appear in AI-generated answers”, said Kokoszka.
AI Discoverability IQ claims to give brands an overall LLM discoverability score, specific details on areas such as technical website elements, content and structured data, and actionable recommendations to improve their AI discoverability.
Its tool generates “measurable, trackable outputs” like AI Visibility Score, brands’ prompt-based results, and a side-by-side comparisons with their competitive set. This means brands “can react quickly to improve their discoverability scores” with Mention Me’s wider suite of products and unique first-party data.
It’s also “innovating and evolving” its platform to include more capabilities, such as the ability to benchmark against competitors, to drive further improvements for marketing leaders in the age of AI.
Mention Me CMO Neha Mantri said: “AI Discoverability is not yet a named practice within most marketing teams; the same way SEO wasn’t in the early 2000s. But when up to 31% of consumers say they’re more likely to trust responses from generative AI than traditional search results, this needs to change. Mention Me is naming the problem and providing a solution at just the right time.”
A host of celebrities and high-end brands have donating goods to ensure Savile Row’s latest annual ‘Pop-Up Crisis’ store will continue to support the Crisis charity event that has so far raised over £650,000 since 2018.
Image: Crisis charity
Across 8-13 December, the pop-up store at 18-19 Savile Row in London’s Mayfair will sell a curated selection of designer clothing, past stock and samples from luxury brands.
Celebs donating goods include Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Naomie Harris, David Gandy, Jarvis Cocker, Louis Partridge, Jamie Redknapp and Emma Corrin, among others, for a week-long event and raffle with all proceeds going to help end homelessness across Britain.
Hosted by landlord The Pollen Estate, the temporary shop is also selling designer goods donated by Savile Row tailors including Mr Porter, Wales Bonner, Crockett & Jones and many other luxury brands from Barbour, Tod’s to Manolo Blahnik and Watches of Switzerland Group.
This year, celebrity model and fashion entrepreneur David Gandy will also be curating an exclusive online edit on shopfromcrisis.com, including donations from his own wardrobe as well as items from friends including Redknapp’s brand Sandbanks, Hackett and Aspinal of London.
Gandy said: “Having supported Crisis for a number of years, I’m delighted to have had the opportunity to curate my own online edit this year with the help of some of my close friends. It means a lot to know that donations from my own wardrobe are going towards such an important cause. Whether you’re looking for the perfect Christmas gift or to treat yourself, your purchase can help make a real difference to people facing homelessness this Christmas.”
Liz Choonara, executive director of Commerce and Enterprise at Crisis, added: “Pop-Up Crisis is such an iconic event in the Crisis calendar and one that we look forward to every year. We’re thrilled to be partnering with the team once again for another week celebrating the iconic craftsmanship and style of Savile Row – with all proceeds going towards our crucial work to end homelessness.”
Specialist outdoor clothing producer Dryrobe has won a trademark case against a smaller label. The win for the business, which produces waterproof towel-lined robes used by cold water swimmers, means the offending rival must now stop selling items under the D-Robe brand within a week.
Image: Dryrobe
A judge at the high court in London ruled the company was guilty of passing off its D-Robe changing robes and other goods as Dryrobe products and knew it was infringing its bigger rival’s trademark reports, The Guardian newspaper.
The company said it has rigorously defended its brand against being used generically by publications and makers of similar clothing and is expected to seek compensation from D-Robe’s owners for trademark infringement.
Dryrobe was created by the former financier Gideon Bright as an outdoor changing robe for surfers in 2010 and became the signature brand of the wild swimming craze.
Sales increased from £1.3 million in 2017 to £20.3 million in 2021 and it made profits of £8 million. However, by 2023 sales had fallen back to £18 million as the passion for outdoor sports waned and the brand faced more competition.
Bright told the newspaper the legal win was a “great result” for Dryrobe as there were “quite a lot of copycat products and [the owners] immediately try to refer to them using our brand name”.
He said the company was now expanding overseas and moving into a broader range of products, adding that sales were similar to 2023 as “a lot of competition has come in”.
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