The latest Unity Marketing quarterly survey of
affluent consumers shows “mixed signals” for the months ahead, the group
announced April 25.

“There is a lot of ‘noise’ out there about the
return of the luxury market,” Unity Marketing president Pam Danziger
said in a statement. “I am advising my clients not to believe everything
they see or hear. While the worst may be behind
us, there are still worrisome trends brewing in the market for luxury … 
Spending on luxury is likely to flatten out over the coming
quarters unless there is dramatic improvement in the economy overall,
which seems doubtful.”

On a positive note, the group’s Luxury Consumption
Index (LCI) rose 6.7 points, to reach 82.8 points, the highest rate of
growth since first quarter 2010. However, it still stands below the
86.9-point level it reached in January 2010.

The group also found that luxury spending was
basically flat from previous quarter, and 4.1 percent less than reported
in the first quarter 2010.

Don’t miss a story! Subscribe to JCK’s e-newsletter here.

JCK