The Bifurcation of the Luxury Market

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The luxury market also experiencing much more of a downturn, at least than it has this time around. Another structural reason why the luxury market has become far more resilient is that since the financial crisis, it's increasingly focused on the kind of tippy top of the income distribution. Those very rich consumers or ultra high net worth consumers tend to have a lot of scope to keep splurging even when the economic cycle turns.

The past few years have proved tumultuous both for American consumers and for retailers selling to them. The end result is a curious slump for middle-of-the-road brands. Artificial intelligence like ChatGPT stands to disrupt everything from art to coding; we self-interestedly explore probable effects on journalism. And remembering Ranajit Guha, a historian who saw a different India by looking bottom-up.

Take our listener survey at www.economist.com/intelligencesurvey

And for full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer