Luxury spending in Canada has increased since the recession, while spending in the U.S. and Europe has yet to reach pre-recessionary levels, says an American Express Business Insights study.
It seems our country’s taste for finery was less impacted by the recession, with luxury spending increasing overall since 2009.
Read: Both income gap and luxury market expanding
And it’s younger Canadians who are widening their wallets. Despite high school fees and the need to grow their assets, they’ve upped their spending on high fashion by 33% and on travel by 74%. Fine dining costs have skyrocketed by 102%.
Read: Help Gen Y live below their means
The survey also finds:
- Gen X increased spend on luxury fashion by 33%, travel by 15%, and fine dining by 31%;
- Boomers increased consumption of luxury fashion by 24%, travel by 6%, and fine dining by 15%;
- Seniors are spending 2% more on luxury fashion, 3% less on travel and 1% less on fine dining.
- Consumers who have previously held back on lavish expenditures make up 42% of the total Canadian luxury shoppers in 2011.
Also, Canadians of all ages are shopping online for extravagant products. Gen Y increased their online spending from 15% in 2009 to 53% in 2011, while Gen X and older Canadians followed suit, with older men increasing their search for specialty products online.