This luxury item saw the biggest price increase in 2023… no, it’s not handbags or shoes

The Julius Baer Lifestyle Index seeks to understand the spending patterns of high-net-worth individuals globally. Released as part of the 2024 Julius Baer Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report recently, the lifestyle index reveals signs of a new economic and lifestyle boom in 2023. The Lifestyle Index analysed 12 consumer goods and 8 services that represent discretionary spending by high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).

“Almost universally, prices increased across all categories in our index,” read the Julius Baer report. “The only significant drop this year on a global level in USD terms came in the bicycle category, with small drops for whisky and business class flights.”

The steepest price rise

“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.

Jewellery saw the biggest price increase at 9.6% globally, followed by ladies shoes and men’s suits at 9.3%. This is in tune with the trend of a steep rise in the price of premium consumer goods over the last few years, even as consumers rally against the hike.

Europe, where many of the luxury fashion houses are located, has seen a sharp rise in items like jewellery and handbags. In the Middle East too, HNWIs focused their spending on premium products like designer clothing, jewellery and luxury watches.

In Mumbai, the cost of jewellery increased 19%, while women’s handbags saw an increase of 5.8%

On the other hand, the cost of bicycles globally decreased 6.4% last year, while business class flights saw a fall of 1.7%. The cost of whiskey also fell by 1% in 2023 globally.

Why did business class flights become cheaper?

All regions of the world saw an increase in spending by HNWIs on travel and hospitality. Almost 50% of respondents in all regions said they expect to travel more in the coming year. So why have business class flights become cheaper?

According to the Julius Baer Lifestyle Index, this probably reflects the fact that travel is finally returning to normal after the pandemic. In the post-pandemic world, high demand had sent the price of flights skyrocketing.

Asia, for example, has seen the cost of business class flights fall 14% over the last 12 months – the biggest decrease of any category in this year’s rankings.

However, this appears to be a correction to the sky-high fares that passengers were paying in 2022 and early 2023, the Julius Baer Lifestyle Index noted.

(Also read: Mumbai falls two places in Julius Baer’s global wealth and lifestyle report, now ranked at…)