Download the full 2026 Luxury Retail Trends Report here.

This free trends report outlines industry perspectives and expert advice from our team of retail consultants. You can view an excerpt of the report below, and if you’d like to discuss any of the trends or other challenges in the luxury retail space, connect with our team today.

Key Luxury Retail Trends

As the luxury retail industry moves into 2026, demographic change and rising expectations are pushing brands to rethink how they connect with shoppers. Winning brands are focusing on building relationships that feel personal and earned, whether through more thoughtful engagement or by elevating what the customer experiences at every touchpoint. Further, sustainability and ethical are becoming core to how luxury brands define themselves and how consumers decide where to place their trust and loyalty over time.

Clarkston’s luxury retail consultants have highlighted the top industry trends that businesses should consider and keep top-of-mind throughout the year:

1. Increasing Numbers of Gen Z & Millennial Shoppers
2. Hyper-Personalization: One-to-One Client Relationships
3. Exclusivity and the Experience Economy
4. Training & Store Associate Enablement as a Competitive Advantage
5. Sustainable Production
6. Brand Image & Reputation

Trend 1:

Increasing Numbers of Gen Z & Millennial Shoppers 

Millennials and Gen Z are projected to account for roughly 45% of the luxury retail market by the end of 2025, marking a meaningful shift in who luxury brands are selling to. As these younger consumers increase their share of spend, retailers are under pressure to adapt their strategies to align with different expectations around engagement, values, and how brands show up across channels. 

Brand loyalty (repeat purchases, advocacy, content engagement, etc.) is one characteristic amongst younger generations when it comes to selecting products. More than half of Gen Zers say they’ll purchase from a brand they love, which places a premium on experiences that build emotional connection over time. Experiential marketing plays a growing role here, particularly through immersive digital tools that feel personalized and interactive.  

Take, for example, augmented reality lenses and virtual try-on experiences – two ways that brands are creating moments that are both memorable and distinctly digital. Nyx Professional Makeup’s collaboration with Arcadia illustrates how this approach can come to life. The “Beauty Bestie” experience combines AR and AI to deliver personalized guidance and brand interaction through a digital lens. As digital natives, Gen Z shoppers are more inclined to engage with these types of experiences and, importantly, to form brand connections through them. Compared to older generations, younger consumers are more likely to translate digital engagement into purchase behavior and longer-term loyalty. 

Social media also continues to be central to how Gen Z and Millennials discover and evaluate luxury brands. Nearly half of luxury shoppers aged 18–34 use social platforms to research high-end purchases, making channel selection a critical component of marketing strategy. Influencer partnerships remain a powerful way to reach these audiences, particularly when the creator’s personal brand aligns authentically with the luxury house. Louis Vuitton’s collaboration with Emma Chamberlain is one example of how brands can tap into established communities and drive awareness and engagement through trusted voices.  

Beyond marketing, social platforms are increasingly functioning as direct commerce channels. Scrolling has evolved into shopping, with a meaningful share of fashion and beauty consumers purchasing luxury items directly through platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. This shift allows influencers and luxury retailers to sell directly to consumers in a way that feels seamless and intuitive. For younger shoppers in particular, social commerce creates a convenient, low-friction path from inspiration to purchase while keeping the brand experience rooted in the channels they use most. 

Trend 2:

Hyper-Personalization: One-to-One Client Relationships 

Personalization continues to be a powerful way for luxury retailers to differentiate their brands and deepen customer loyalty. Building personal relationships with shoppers, whether through remembering individual preferences, acknowledging milestones like birthdays, or tailoring offers based on prior purchases, helps create a sense of recognition that luxury consumers increasingly expect. 

Historically, personalization in luxury retail relied on broad customer segments to approximate preferences. Today, it has evolved into a more precise, data-driven strategy that enables brands to engage shoppers on an individual level.  

Digital tools now allow retailers to anticipate preferences and surface relevant products in a more tailored way. Vuori’s “Personalized Picks for You,” for example, curates product recommendations based on shopper behavior, while Alo uses email personalization to re-engage customers who have abandoned carts. The brand also captures purchase history and stated preferences to inform personalized marketing and targeted advertising. These approaches help create shopping experiences that feel more relevant and intentional, strengthening long-term brand relationships. 

Product customization is another extension of one-to-one engagement, giving shoppers the ability to shape luxury items around their personal tastes. Burberry Bespoke allows shoppers to customize every aspect of their product from fabric and lining to buttons and embroidery. Meanwhile, Cartier allows shoppers to engrave their jewelry with custom engravings. Experiences like these can foster a deeper emotional connection, as customers receive products that feel uniquely theirs and reflective of their individual style.  

Technology continues to play a growing role in enabling personalized luxury experiences. Estée Lauder’s Virtual Foundation Tool uses a customer’s phone camera to help identify the best shade of Double Wear foundation, removing friction from the discovery process. Gucci’s remote shopping experience, Gucci Live, brings high-touch service into a digital environment by offering personalized video appointments with real advisors, complete with close-up product views and interactive conversation. Integrating technology in this way allows luxury brands to deliver service that feels both seamless and highly attentive. 

Looking ahead, continued advances in technology will unlock even more sophisticated personalization strategies. Retailers that invest in tech-enabled, real-time personalization will be better positioned to anticipate customer needs and respond in the moment, creating differentiated experiences that support long-term loyalty well beyond the initial transaction.

Continue reading by downloading the full report below.

Download the Full 2026 Luxury Retail Trends Report Here

Read last year’s Luxury Retail Trends Report here.

Contributions from Natalie Pollock