How to appeal to a new luxury customer

April 13, 2026

How to appeal to the new luxury customer

 

Can brands appeal to the new generation of luxury customers without alienating their established base?

 

Mood Media’s Head of Creative Barry McPhillips shares his insights into how both heritage and hypebeast brands are navigating this question and shaping their in-store experiences in response

 

New Generation, New Expectations

 

How do we define today’s luxury customer?

 

The traditional customer base for heritage brands is still a powerful market segment; these shoppers value loyalty, personalised service, emotive in-store experiences, and purchases that make them feel special.

 

But a new generation of luxury shoppers is disrupting the status quo.

 

“Their expectations are very different. More immediacy, more theatre, more drama, more online,” explains Barry McPhillips, Head of Creative at Mood Media.

 

Loyalty is no longer a priority. In fact, the product isn’t even necessarily the most important aspect of a luxury purchase for these customers. They’re more interested in buying into the feeling it gives them.

 

This shift means that the luxury shopping experience has expanded beyond the boutique. It’s no longer just about curating exceptional in-store environments, the customer journey both pre and post purchase is equally important.

 

It also presents a dilemma for brands looking to retain their loyal customers while also engaging the next generation – is it possible to evolve without alienating?

Hypebeast vs. Heritage

 

One thing is clear, staying still isn’t a viable option.

 

No matter whether a luxury brand has been around for 150 years or 15 months, to maintain its position in the public consciousness, it needs to lead the charge and take calculated risks to avoid fading into irrelevancy. Historic prestige has a time limit.

 

“Luxury brands have to push the boundaries of what’s next,” agrees Barry.

 

This doesn’t equate to embracing every technological advancement and crafting hyper-sensory experiences that assail the senses. That’s reserved for the hypebeasts.

 

Hypebeast brands occupy a unique space in the luxury market.


Rooted in streetwear culture, subversive art, and online communities, at first glance, they appear to be the antithesis of heritage luxury but command similar price points and bridge the gap by engaging in collaborations with leading fashion houses and artisans alike. Leaders in this sub-category include Supreme, Off-White, Golden Goose, and Chrome Hearts.

 

“There’s a whole new world of luxury and those brands are playing to their audience in a very different way,” Barry confirms.

 

Hypebeast brands are known for their exclusive and surprise product drops, lines stretching around the streets, bold branding, and stores that resemble warehouses with distressed walls, concrete or wooden floors, and skateboards and cartoon posters lining the walls.

 

It all contributes to that intangible ‘it’ factor – the brand’s key selling point. Hypebeast stores need to reflect the brand aesthetic while also being camera-ready for viral social media moments. Interactions with employees are brief, digital displays are either virtually non-existent or set into expansive video walls, and cross-channel content eliminates the boundaries between online and offline experiences.

 

Luxury brands built on craftsmanship, heritage, and prestige cannot – and shouldn’t want – to compete in the same space as the hypebeasts.

 

Instead, they need to lean into their unique appeal, attracting the new generation of luxury customers by taking them behind-the-scenes through content and experiences that invite engagement rather than maintaining exclusivity for exclusivity’s sake.

 

Not only does this approach help to build a new customer base but it also highlights what makes luxury brands worth the extra investment.

 

“Johnstons of Elgin in Scotland, who make cashmere and wool, are a fantastic example,” Barry adds. “I took the factory tour and suddenly, once you understand the craftsmanship, the price point makes sense and is easily justified.” 

 

From Selling a Product to Promoting a Lifestyle

 

Heritage luxury brands pride themselves on their craftmanship, but the new generation of customers is less interested in items and more inspired by the lifestyle they represent. 

 

“It’s not the thing that they buy, it’s the feeling they get,” Barry explains.

 

In-store experiences are still important but new rules apply. Goods need to be presented but displaying them in situ appeals to lifestyle customers more effectively than standard placements.

 

By demonstrating how the product may be used in real life, customers are able to envision how it will elevate their everyday. It’s a form of storytelling but not one that relies on longer-form content like videos or written text that require more time and attention to absorb.

 

The new luxury customer also expects brands to cater to their lifestyles, whether that’s allowing them to bring their new puppy into the showroom, providing out-of-hours appointments, or offering tech to keep their children entertained while they browse.

 

Memorable moments and contextual curation

 

Curating an impactful in-store environment that appeals to the new luxury customer means balancing House codes with consumer expectations.

 

Audio, visuals, scent, and other sensory tools each have a role to play, but it’s essential that their execution isn’t loud, brash, or obviously striving for “cool” status.

 

“Luxury brands who do it well, do it very sympathetically. It’s not digital for digital sake, it’s woven into the experience in a considered way,” explains Barry. “Technology needs to be almost invisible, certainly in a luxury setting.”

 

Digital displays, for example, may not immediately spring to mind when imagining a luxury boutique but creative deployment makes all the difference.

 

“Dior had a touchscreen controller that projected onto the wall and the space where it projected had photo frames,” Barry continues. “Some were real pictures and others were digital displays. That’s an example of technology being built into the environment, so it doesn’t feel overt.” 

 

These harmonious spaces can be enhanced, and customer connections deepened, by adapting the environment to shape the shopper journey. Certain elements can be amplified in different areas of the store to provide a more nuanced immersive experience.

 

“Designs can be adaptive, so each zone offers a different heightened experience that you don’t even notice – it’s in the back of the mind. One part may have a stronger scent than another as you don’t want people to dwell there too long. It’s not just thinking about the store as one space, it’s designing the space to do different things.”

 

However, as Barry warns, this approach must be all or nothing to have the desired effect. “If you’re going to go bespoke, you have to go all in.”

 

That’s not to say that the type of hyper-stimulating environments that attract the new generation of shopper are inaccessible to heritage luxury. While high-impact visuals, audio, and interactive technology are unlikely to be a good fit for fixed locations, pop-ups put everything on the table. It all depends on the objective; if the goal is to attract attention, then a multisensory experience that is intended to overstimulate achieves that objective. The right task for the right client, executed in the right way.

 

AI, but make it art

 

The average new luxury customer is already starting to integrate AI into their daily lives, so it’s only natural that they would expect their favourite retailers to be experimenting with this emerging technology too.

 

The shift from mass-market to luxury brands is that the higher end of the market needs to be more considered with their use of AI, rather than focusing on cost savings and operational efficiencies (at least not outwardly) they should use AI’s unique abilities to add value to the shopping experience.

 

“With AI in the luxury environment, it’s the idea behind how you use it that matters. AI isn’t about cutting corners, it’s about how it solves a problem or creates an opportunity,” adds Barry.

 

This could mean creating bespoke digital artworks using proprietary data that evolve over time as more purchases are made or curating handover experiences with personalised audio messages from the brand CEO.

Attracting the next generation of shoppers

By Andrea Duckett • April 1, 2026
How luxury shopping is hoping to attract the next generation of shoppers As luxury retailers look to retain their existing customer base while appealing to new audiences, they are evolving their approach to both their bricks-and-mortar stores and live media experiences. But with Gen Z brand loyalty never guaranteed, will investing in attention grabbing activities be enough to secure the future of the luxury sector? The economic uncertainty of recent years has been challenging for retailers, especially those operating in the luxury space. Richemont (owner of Cartier and Montblanc) saw operating profits drop by 17% year-on-year in the first half of 2025, Gucci’s revenues fell by 25% in the same period, and LVMH group revenues were down 2% in the first nine months of 2024. While engaging existing consumers will be an important part of these brands’ survival strategy, harnessing the spending power of Gen Z will be essential if the luxury industry is to navigate this difficult period and secure future prosperity. Currently aged between 13 and 28, Gen Z is the audience luxury retailers are hoping to attract - and for good reason. Gen Z spending is projected to reach $12 trillion by 2030 and their rate of spending on luxury goods is expected to be three times faster than other generations. But perhaps one of the most interesting stats to look at when considering how luxury shopping can adapt to serve Gen Z shoppers is that in-store mass merchandise and grocery purchases account for nearly 50% of their total spending. Gen Z is truly the omnichannel generation. While digital channels will continue to be an important driver of both online and offline sales, luxury brands are increasingly re-evaluating the role their retail spaces can play in securing the attention – and loyalty – of Gen Z shoppers. Capitalising on the potential of live media – immersive, real-world experiences designed to forge connections with new and existing shoppers – can help brands find the sweet spot between strategy and spectacle.

The impact of digital content and personalised experiences

By Andrea Duckett • March 31, 2026
The impact of digital content and personalised experiences Personalisation is expected to transform physical retail in the coming years, but is anyone doing it right When it comes to adapting digital content to serve a specific audience, there’s a wide gap between ambition and expectation – and customers are more than aware of this discrepancy. In fact, only 23% of shoppers think that retailers are doing a good job when it comes to personalisation.[1] But how can brands bridge the gap? It all starts with understanding customer experience. Content for content’s sake isn’t just a waste of budget, but it also runs the risk of alienating loyal customers. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Several luxury brands are hampered in their efforts to implement digital content effectively; some haven’t built sufficient knowledge of the customer in-store experience, some don’t have buy-in from stakeholders, and some are restricted by budget. Any luxury brand considering using digital content in their retail stores – and potentially personalising that content – should start with four key questions: 1. What is the purpose of this content? 2. In what context will customers experience this content? 3. How will this content impact the customer journey? 4. Does this content complement the store environment? If you don’t have an answer to each of these questions, you’re probably not ready to maximise the opportunity digital content offers. And it is a considerable opportunity; retailers who can effectively leverage personalised digital content in-store are 48% more likely to exceed their revenue goals. So, how can you use digital content effectively?

How can luxury automotive create a compelling buying journey for all?

By Andrea Duckett • March 30, 2026
The luxury automotive industry is at a crossroads, needing to adapt to a new generation of customers without losing the heritage brand equity that its existing clientele have invested in. And in an industry that markets perfection, the execution of its buying journeys can’t be anything but extraordinary. Barry McPhillips, Head of International Creative at Mood Media, explains more Prestige, heritage, and quality are just three of the many adjectives traditionally associated with the luxury automotive industry. The likes of Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, and Ferrari epitomise exclusivity and have historically attracted an eclectic customer base, ranging from collectors to performance enthusiasts. Owning a luxury vehicle comes with a perceived elevation in status that is considered more than worth the price tag. Delivering perfection as standard The luxury automotive sector is thriving and projected to be worth $655 million by 2027[1]. But it’s also highly competitive; a McKinsey survey found that 35% of luxury car buyers[2] would consider switching brands when making their next purchase. And that competition will only intensify as brands start to adapt to a changing audience and look to attract a new generation of buyers. The new generation have a different perception of luxury brands and take different routes to purchase. However, the biggest players in luxury automotive also can’t afford to lose their legacy clientele. These dual priorities present a real challenge as brands need to retain their identity and heritage while being pressured to become all things to all people. That’s why the buying experience is so important. Luxury automotive brands effectively sell the concept of perfection, which must be achieved in both the showroom and post-sales process to ensure long-term loyalty. So, what qualifies as the perfect luxury automotive buying experience?