Luxury brands reallocating marketing spend toward experiential, digital channels: report

March 17, 2026

Women leaders are navigating their organizations and careers in a rapidly changing luxury business. Image credit: Shutterstock

By Luxury Roundtable Intelligence

Leaders of luxury brands across several sectors have expressed cautious optimism about the year ahead, indicating a market navigating uncertainty rather than clear growth momentum.

This one of the key findings among five in the 2026 Luxury Leaders Pulse Study interviewing more than 40 C-suite executives from brands such as Rosewood Hotels, Van Cleef & Arpels, Dior, Harrods and Chanel. Singapore-based market researcher and Luxury Roundtable official partner Agility Research and Strategy fielded the survey. The report offered insights into the luxury leaders’ priorities and challenges, and how they view the business in the year ahead.

Five key trends emerged:

The luxury business enters 2026 with cautious optimism
Luxury leaders are divided about the year ahead.

Around 39 percent expect challenges, while 36 percent anticipate stability, suggesting a market navigating uncertainty rather than clear growth momentum.

Only a smaller share sees strong opportunities or major disruptions, highlighting a broadly balanced but cautious outlook for the sector.

Business expectations are stabilizing after a slowdown
Sentiment has rebounded slightly compared with 2025 but remains well below the post-pandemic highs seen earlier in the decade.

About 45 percent of executives expect higher business performance in 2026, while another 47 percent expect results to be similar to 2025, reinforcing a view that the industry is shifting from rapid expansion toward a phase of disciplined growth and normalization.

Geopolitics and cautious consumers are the biggest risks
Luxury executives see macro uncertainty as the primary challenge for 2026.

The top concerns include geopolitical instability, consumer trading-down behavior, and inflationary pressures, reflecting growing sensitivity to economic volatility and shifting spending priorities among affluent consumers.

Geopolitics and cautious customers are biggest risks, per the Luxury Leaders Pulse 2026 Study. Source: Agility Research and Strategy

Experiences are becoming the central growth engine
The luxury business continues to pivot toward experience-driven luxury, with 70 percent of leaders identifying experiential luxury as the leading trend shaping the sector.

Wellness-focused luxury, localized brand positioning and AI-enabled personalization are also gaining momentum, signaling a shift toward holistic lifestyle engagement rather than product-centric luxury alone.

Experiences are becoming the central growth engine, according to the Luxury Leaders Pulse 2026 Study. Source: Agility Research and Strategy

Marketing budgets are shifting toward immersive engagement
Luxury brands are reallocating marketing spend toward experiential and digital channels.

Investments are increasing in consumer events, digital media, collaborations and celebrity ambassadors, while traditional advertising and live-stream KOL marketing are declining, reflecting a strategic pivot toward high-impact brand experiences that drive deeper engagement and conversion.

See how women leaders in luxury are navigating an uncertain year. Join us at the third annual Luxury Women Leaders Summit on April 15 in New York. You’ll make new connections, renew existing ties and glean new insights and tips on how to navigate your career, company and industry category. Please check out our agenda – we’d love to have you over

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Luxury brands reallocating marketing spend toward experiential, digital channels: report

Luxury brands reallocating marketing spend toward experiential, digital channels: report

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