Luxury brands may need to return to core values of quality, durability and authenticity to reconnect with customers, according to EY’s latest Luxury Client Index 2025. The study comes at a time of slowing growth in key markets such as China and heightened disruption from US tariffs.
The report, entitled Winning Back Aspirational Luxury Clients, surveyed 1,672 consumers across 10 countries, including 153 in France. It found that 62% of respondents had decided against buying a luxury product last year, not because of affordability but because “the price–value equation no longer made sense to them”.
Across all markets, three in four customers said product quality was their top priority, outweighing exclusivity, celebrity endorsements, personalisation and even price. In France, craftsmanship emerged as the leading purchase driver, while globally, the quality of materials ranked first.
Durability also ranked highly, on par with price, particularly in the UK and China. The report noted that recent scandals over poor manufacturing standards and labour conditions had undermined consumer confidence. Some 24% of respondents who did not rank sustainability as a top concern cited distrust of brands’ environmental claims, accusing them of greenwashing.
The findings also pointed to a demand for innovation, with 45% of those surveyed highlighting interest in new materials, while 53% considered recyclable packaging important. French consumers placed less emphasis on packaging recyclability but ranked carbon impact as their second most important sustainability concern.
Rachel Daydou, partner at EY Fabernovel and co-author of the report, said it would benefit luxury companies “to use traceability to demonstrate that their products are made by skilled craftsmen, using high-quality, safe materials, which can justify prices and win back the trust of customers in a context of mistrust”.
The study further revealed strong demand for meaningful experiences with luxury brands. Two-thirds of aspirational clients — those spending less than US $ 5,844 a year — reported receiving no special attention during their most recent purchases. Yet 83% said personalised gestures would encourage them to return, and 70% indicated they would be willing to pay for brand experiences even without a purchase.
Daydou said this “thirst for experience opens up unprecedented prospects: subscriptions to exclusive products, rental services for events, or certified secondhand programmes. These are all revenue-generating and decarbonising levers that houses should be exploring more actively”.
She concluded that luxury houses were “at a crossroads”, suggesting that the current slowdown could offer “the opportunity to question established beliefs, reinforce the essence of luxury, and move towards business models that are both profitable and truly sustainable”.
