Business News/ Industry / Retail/ Prada sunglasses and YSL perfume: Gen Z shoppers drive demand for affordable luxury
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A small set of young luxury consumers is emerging, buying into branded perfumes, sunglasses, and entry-level branded leather goods, said a top executive at online platform Tata CLiQ Luxury.
A small set of young luxury consumers is emerging, buying into branded perfumes, sunglasses, and entry-level branded leather goods, said a top executive at online platform Tata CLiQ Luxury.
The cohort now makes up 20% of the website's luxury platform shopper base and is growing rapidly. The retailer has partnered with various brands to launch exclusive collections and is ramping up marketing activities targeted towards such shoppers.
The cohort now makes up 20% of the website's luxury platform shopper base and is growing rapidly. The retailer has partnered with various brands to launch exclusive collections and is ramping up marketing activities targeted towards such shoppers.
“There are new consumer cohorts coming up in India. One is non-metro customers whose incomes are rising; with e-commerce, we're reaching everyone aspiring to buy luxury. The second cohort is Gen Z. They are supposed to cross 50% of the total population of the country by 2030. Both Gen Z and millennials are seeing a rise in income levels, the way they shop, the way they live, and the way they interact with brands is evolving. That is one cohort which wants accessible luxury at a very early stage in life," said Gopal Asthana, chief executive officer of Tata CLiQ Luxury.
India's digital-savvy Gen Z shoppers, born between 1997 and 2012, numbering around 60 million, are heavily influenced by the latest trends and social media influencers. Gen Z accounts for 20-25% of the online lifestyle market, valued at around $4 billion in gross merchandise value, according to a 2024 report by Bain & Co. and Myntra.
These shoppers are becoming “big aspirants" buying into branded perfumes, sunglasses, and bags early in life compared to their predecessors.
“They start with, say, Tom Ford fragrances or YSL fragrances or Prada sunglasses. They may not buy a ₹1 lakh bag, but we do see them spending ₹15,000 to ₹30,000 on such goods. They come, they buy, they repeat," said Asthana.
Meanwhile, in 2024, 55% of Tata CLiQ Luxury's gross merchandise value came from non-metro markets, reflecting the rise of a new, digitally savvy generation of consumers across “Bharat," the retailer said in a report “Thinking Beyond the Cart—Elevating Luxury E-Commerce" released Monday.
India’s luxury market is still small but growing—according to management consulting firm Bain & Co., India’s luxury market is set to expand 3.5 times, reaching $85-90 billion by 2030. While brands have existed for over a decade, the market has seen notable momentum post-covid. This surge is primarily driven by India's affluent consumer segment, largely shielded from the broader economic slowdown. This segment is fuelling increased demand for luxury vehicles, real estate, travel experiences, and high-end branded goods and accessories.
In FY24, Louis Vuitton India Retail reported a 13% jump in income from operations at ₹811.6 crore. Meanwhile, the maker of famous Birkin and Kelly bags, Hermes India Retail and Distributors, sold ₹316 crore worth of luxury bags and accessories in FY24, growing 27% over FY23’s ₹249 crore, Mint reported last year.
Asthana emphasized that premium consumption appears largely unaffected by macroeconomic headwinds. “We are seeing that our premium segment is doing better. We are growing not by a few percentage points but very strongly," he added.
Asthana said the company will curate more specific launches and brands for younger shoppers and drive marketing efforts to draw these shoppers. “Gen Z is around 20% of our customer base and growing. Millennials are, of course, very strong, but this cohort (Gen Z) is becoming bigger and better. India’s median age is expected to touch 25 years in the next 10 to 15 years, and we feel Gen Z consumers are going to be the biggest buyers. We are trying to recruit them early on," he added.
Launched in 2016, Tata CLiQ Luxury competes with Reliance Retail’s Ajio Luxe and Nykaa. It sells international and Indian brands in accessories, beauty and fragrances, fashion, jewellery, handbags, and watches. It is part of Tata Digital, the 156-year-old Tata Group’s digital business vertical.
The platform caters to the top 10 million elite households in India.
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