Luxury Rewired: How Value, AI and Relationships Will Shape 2026

Luxury is entering a new phase, one defined by stabilization, selectivity, and significance. The 2026 Global Powers of Luxury report presents a forward looking view of the industry, drawing on insights from 420 senior executives across ten countries. Unlike previous editions that focused on historical financial performance, this year’s study examines how leaders are responding to a reshaped environment marked by value driven consumers, evolving global demand centers, tightening regulation, and the rapid rise of AI.

Luxury executives expect 2026 to be a year where value outweighs volume, with 66.9% of the executives involved in the survey anticipating stable or growing revenues and 70.7% expecting to maintain or improve margins. Companies are prioritizing pricing power, operational discipline, and brand desirability, while optimizing store footprints and elevating theatrical, immersive flagships. Customer experience and loyalty emerge as the strongest growth opportunities (cited by 28.6% of executives), as brands intensify efforts around data enabled clienteling, curated experiences, and deeper emotional connection.

The report also highlights three structural forces reshaping the sector:

• GenAI and digital acceleration are moving from exploration to action, with 41.2% of companies already implementing GenAI in selected areas and 11.9% embedding it in core functions across the most relevant areas of the organization.
• Pre owned and circular models continue to mature, with 68.3% of companies now offering repair or refurbishment services, 53.8% operating certified pre owned or trade in programs, and 44.5% partnering with resale platforms, creating more controlled and value accretive circular ecosystems.
• Sustainability as innovation is rising in importance, with 25.7% of executives identifying R&D and innovation programs as their top sustainability priority, signaling a shift from compliance to transformative investment in new materials, traceability, and lifecycle management.

Geographically, China (19.3%), Japan (19.0%), the Middle East (17.9%), and India (11.9%) stand out as the most influential engines of growth for 2026. Their trajectories are shaped by factors such as resilient domestic demand, tourism flows, luxury driven retail investment, and rapidly expanding affluent consumer bases. Travel and hospitality also outpace all other categories, with 36.2% of executives identifying luxury travel as the segment with the highest growth potential.

Looking ahead, the next five years are expected to redefine luxury through technology–craftsmanship convergence, lifestyle expansion, and relationship based value creation. Executives rank artificial intelligence (31.7%) and innovation in materials and production (22.6%) as the most transformative forces shaping the industry’s future. The luxury market is moving toward a relationship driven model, one shaped not by scale, but by cultural relevance, trust, and the ability to blend intimacy with innovation. 

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