Unique Homes Blog

By Kathleen Carlin-Russell
Editor in chief

Good news came in the form of report released earlier this week. Spending on luxury goods is estimated to grow by $28 billion in 2010, according to the annual Survey of Affluence and Wealth in America, released by American Express Publishing and the Harrison Group. That additional spending will come from the pockets of a growing echelon of high-end consumers. The survey found that there are now more wealthy people in the U.S. (around 400,000 new households in the past year) and that they are also a happier bunch than in years past.

That’s not to say they aren’t aware of the world around them, with 94 percent noting that America is still in a recession that well more than half of them (60 percent) feel will last at least another year. In spite of this, there was also a great deal of optimism among those polled. That may be due to what one writer called, “The Dawn of a New Economy.”      

Gone are the gluttonous spending days of days past, replaced today by more “precision” shopping, where consumers are being resourceful, value-oriented and need-based when making buying decisions. According to Cara David, Senior Vice President with American Express Publishing, “Today’s upscale consumers remain proud of their resourcefulness and their high value expectations.”  In general, wealthy consumers (in this case, households with a mean income of $520,000), are looking for products that are offer the highest quality, craftsmanship and service.

Shopping smarter, finding value, making educated decisions—these are all traits that any one who deals with the luxury buyer or seller have seen throughout the years. Hopefully, you’ve met some of these savvier clients, who, according to the survey, also see a brighter outlook. More than 50 percent of those surveyed said they were optimistic for both their own and their children’s futures, while seven out of every 10 people rated themselves as very happy (way up from 2007, when it was only four out of 10).  

And while these happier people are also embracing technology, (40 percent of those polled currently use Facebook), only a small portion (3 percent) said they use it as a researching or purchasing tool. For most of the affluent, it is mainly a social tool. In fact, newspaper and magazine reading increased with the level of one’s wealth, as 78 percent of the respondents preferred reading printed magazines, even though they could find the same information online. Food for thought indeed. Print is certainly not dead. And, as many of us have known for a long time, it never was.

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