The 5 Biggest Luxury Marketing Trends of 2025, Predicted
Every year, new marketing trends emerge that present unique ways for luxury brands to grow their customer base, engage with their existing customers, and find innovative ways to sell their products.
With the new year right around the corner, it’s time to prepare for the trends that will influence the luxury retail space in 2025. So, what will be the biggest digital marketing trends in the coming year? Get your notes at the ready, because if you want to hit all your KPIs for next year, you’ll need to incorporate these five biggest trends into your brand’s digital marketing strategy for 2025.
Throughout Q1 and Q2 of 2025, we’ll explore each of these trends in more detail, diving deeper into the strategies and innovations reshaping the luxury sector.
2025 Biggest Luxury Marketing Trends
1. RE-COMMERCE
The second-hand luxury market is nothing short of booming. In 2022, the luxury second-hand global market was worth just over $7 billion, and according to Statista, it’s expected to double to $15.4 billion by 2028 at a growth rate of 3%. The largest region for second-hand luxury is North America, with a market valued at $1.8 billion in 2022.
Some of the top key players in this market include Vestiaire Collective, The RealReal, and Rebag, all of which specialize in selling pre-owned luxury. Having observed the growing success of these luxury resale platforms, as well as the growing demand for sustainable action from consumers, luxury brands are now looking for a piece of the second-hand action.
Coach is among these brands, launching a program called Coach (Re)Loved Exchange in which customers can trade in their old bags to be ‘recycled or reimagined’. Depending on the bag’s condition, customers will receive Coach store credit worth $10 to $165. The luxury brand has leaned into sustainability discourse with this program, sharing that more than 85% of unwanted clothes and bags end up in landfills.
Similarly, Rolex, one of the most renowned luxury watch brands in the world, has launched Rolex Certified Pre-Owned, their own take on luxury resale that guarantees authenticity and quality, with a two-year guarantee from the brand.
Expect to see a lot more luxury brands join the re-commerce trend throughout 2025 as they look to capitalize on the increase of sustainability as a core value among customers and compete with the growing number of resale platforms.
2. SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY
Pre-loved is only one aspect of circularity within the luxury market. When you zoom out, you’ll see a much wider trend of sustainability permeating all facets of luxury, from the way that products are made and what they’re made from, to the sustainability of events run by brands and the venues they’re held in. Consumers are now demanding transparency throughout the entire production process.
While brands like Patagonia have been pioneers within the sustainability movement, setting the standard for transparency and the use of eco-friendly materials, others have not yet opted in. However, in 2025, luxury brands can’t afford to treat sustainability as an optional commitment.
Many are following the lead of brands like Monica Vinader, which has made sustainability central to its operations, embracing ethical sourcing and transparency. The brand has a dedicated tab for sustainability in the navigation bar, with several pages detailing commitments to ethical and sustainable production.
On some of their product pages, you can also click “trace this item” to reveal the product passport, offering full transparency on their manufacturing process.
3. GENERATIVE AI
AI is transforming every industry. It’s prevalent throughout luxury marketing, beyond bigger tools such as Meta and Google Ads. With AI’s ability to analyze consumer behavior and optimize digital campaigns, brands are delivering hyper-targeted experiences that cater to individual preferences.
For example, brands are using AI to deliver personalized recommendations to individual customers, based on their purchasing history as well as the behavior of similar customers. It can also be used for dynamic pricing, adjusting costs instantly based on product demand.
Louis Vuitton is leading the way, setting new standards for the use of AI in luxury fashion. They’re using the tool to predict upcoming fashion trends, offer tailored shopping experiences through an LV Virtual Advisor, and even find solutions to make their manufacturing process more sustainable.
4. EXPERIENTIAL VIRTUAL RETAIL
Experiential marketing is a trend that, as we predicted it would, permeated luxury in 2024. Next year, it’s going to the next level.
In 2025, it’s expected that just under a third of all personal luxury sales will take place online. In the same way that it’s no longer enough to simply have a brick-and-mortar store, it will no longer be enough to simply have a website. Just like in-person shopping, digital shopping needs to provide customers with an unforgettable experience.
Ralph Lauren launched the RL Virtual Experience, a virtual flagship store created through CGI technology. It features lounge areas, as well as interactive technology that allows customers to personalize their purchases. You can even visit Ralph Lauren’s Milan residence to virtually view the Palazzo collection.
5. FOUNDER-GENERATED CONTENT
Consumers are all for the digitization of luxury shopping. However, it has also left them craving authentic human interactions. They want to see the faces behind the brand and connect with the real people who make it all happen.
Founder-generated content has become a powerful way to deliver this authenticity and allow customers to connect with luxury brands on a deeper level. Through behind-the-scenes content, product tutorials, and storytelling, luxury brands can humanize themselves and give consumers a glimpse into their core values.
Stella McCartney is a prime example of founder-generated content, with personal posts signed off with ‘x Stella’ scattered throughout the brand’s Instagram feed. Charlotte Tilbury has also made more appearances for her namesake brand, joining famous faces for behind-the-scenes content. The Charlotte Tilbury TikTok page appears to be personal, though it is dedicated to the brand itself.
Your Luxury Marketing Partner for 2025
Working these five trends into your luxury brand’s marketing plan will help shape your success for 2025. Whether you want to focus on just one or incorporate all five, Block & Tam can help you stay at the forefront of these growing marketing trends.
To get started, reach out to our specialist luxury marketing team today.
What Were 2024’s Biggest Luxury Marketing Trends
Ahead of 2024, we predicted the below five trends as being influential.
1. EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING
Experiential marketing and the digitization of stores have risen steadily over the last couple of years and, in 2024, will be more significant than ever.
Experiential marketing is essentially the creation of a better, more engaging brand experience for your customers. Rather than having your customers passively receive your brand’s marketing message, it prioritizes a more holistic experience in which the customer actively engages with the brand, for a more memorable, lasting impression.
“As many as 85% of consumers say they’re more likely to purchase from a brand after participating in experiential marketing events. ”
This can be done through a range of innovative technologies that blend the physical and digital retail experience in a phenomenon known as phygital retail. Examples of this trend include the use of virtual or augmented reality (AR), QR codes, or other modern marketing initiatives like live shopping events.
Experiential marketing is especially important for luxury brands looking to build stronger, more loyal customer relationships. Over 80% of event marketers agree that experiential marketing helps to achieve deeper and longer-lasting connections with customers, while also helping to drive sales. As many as 85% of consumers say they’re more likely to purchase from a brand after participating in experiential marketing events.
2. PERSONALIZATION
In 2024, it’s getting personal. Again, personalization isn’t necessarily a new trend, but it’s becoming increasingly more popular amongst luxury brands.
Personalization can come in various forms, the most common of which is the customization of physical products with names and initials through engraving or monogramming. Louis Vuitton has gone down this route with its 'Mon Monogram' service that lets customers add their initials to bags or choose a specific stripe pattern.
Thinking beyond physical products, brands can also get personal with the way they interact with customers. Rather than creating one-size-fits-all ad campaigns, luxury brands can tailor Google and social media ads to very specific customer segments, in a way that feels uniquely crafted just for them.
Personalized product recommendations are another way to provide customers with a tailored experience. Using browsing history, purchasing history, as well as the activity of similar customers, luxury brands can suggest specific products to customers who are more likely to enjoy them.
3. SOCIAL COMMERCE
Social commerce is an innovative way to shop online. It’s similar to e-commerce, except that the shopping is done through social media.
While the ability to make purchases through apps like Instagram and Facebook has been around for a few years, live shopping—selling through livestream events—really took off in this past year. And it’s by no means slowing down. More and more consumers are conducting their shopping through social media, with 82% of consumers having discovered a product through social media and purchased it directly on their phone.
“82% of consumers have discovered a product through social media and purchased it directly on their phone. ”
Social commerce is a particularly good way to target the luxury industry’s biggest market, millennials and Gen Zers. Gen Z are actually anticipating even more social media usage next year, with 41% of the demographic believing they’ll use more social media networks in 2024. Millennials value social media the highest out of all the demographic groups, with 72% stating that it’s an essential part of their lives.
Burberry is one luxury brand that’s leaning into social commerce and reaping the rewards. They’ve partnered with big social media apps like TikTok and Snapchat to create more immersive experiences for their customers, including AR filters and shoppable ads. This allows them to virtually try on Burberry’s products, then, if convinced, to make a direct purchase via the social media platform.
4. BUY NOW, PAY LATER
Buy Now, Pay Later services—including Klarna, Afterpay, QuadPay, and Affirm—have become more popular among consumers. It allows them to spread the cost of their more expensive purchases over a few weeks or months, rather than paying upfront.
This is good news for luxury brands, as it makes high-ticket items more accessible to a wider range of customers. During periods of economic uncertainty, like the cost of living crisis, it can allow luxury shoppers to continue to shop with their favorite brands with more peace of mind.
So, if you’re not already utilizing this feature on your websites, 2024 is the year to start. You could even consider offering it in stores too.
5. RETARGETED MARKETING
Retargeting is a type of paid ad or email marketing that specifically targets people who have previously visited your brand’s website or app.
It’s a cost-effective form of marketing, because these customers are already familiar with your brand, have been researching your products, and are therefore already part of the way along the customer funnel. This means that when they come across your ads, they’ll be more likely to make a purchase.
Retargeting is an essential part of a luxury brand’s marketing strategy, where the customers tend to be more loyal, and returning customers make up a larger proportion of their customer base.
This post was updated on December 9th, 2024 to predict 2024’s trends.
