The Julius Baer Lifestyle Index, part of the 2024 Julius Baer Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report, examines the spending behaviors of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) worldwide. Released recently, the index highlights a notable economic and lifestyle surge observed in 2023. It analyzes 12 categories of consumer goods and 8 services that represent discretionary spending by HNWIs.
According to the Julius Baer report, prices increased across almost all categories in the index last year. The exceptions were bicycles, which globally saw a significant 6.4% decrease, along with slight drops in whisky and business class flights.
“The greatest price increases this year are for premium consumer items such as fashion and jewellery, where pricing has been rising steeply for several years,” said the lifestyle index.
In Mumbai, jewellery prices rose by 19%, while women’s handbags increased by 5.8%.
The reduction in the cost of business class flights globally, by 1.7% in 2023, can be attributed to the normalization of travel post-pandemic. High demand during the pandemic had driven flight prices up sharply, and the decrease in prices now reflects a return to more typical travel patterns.
The report notes that the largest price increases were seen in premium consumer items like fashion and jewellery, consistent with trends of recent years.
For instance, jewellery prices globally rose by 9.6%, while women’s shoes and men’s suits saw increases of 9.3%. This trend underscores a significant uptick in the pricing of luxury consumer goods despite some consumer resistance to price hikes.
In regions such as Asia, there was a notable 14% decline in the cost of business class flights over the past year, marking the most significant reduction among all categories in this year’s rankings. This decline is viewed as a correction from the exceptionally high fares observed in 2022 and early 2023.
In Europe and the Middle East, HNWIs concentrated their spending on premium products like designer clothing, jewellery, and luxury watches, contributing to the observed price increases in these categories.