On 20 November, Vogue Business hosted a reception in partnership with Capital One to explore the results of their recent collaborative study looking at the needs and expectations of luxury consumers across different lifestyle categories. While buying behaviour and generational differences across product categories like fashion and beauty are regularly investigated by the industry, less is known about the holistic needs and expectations of the different lifestyle categories of shoppers, not to mention their service requirements.
The research found that 55 per cent of luxury consumers in the US have used concierge services to source luxury goods or access exclusive experiences such as in-demand restaurants, VIP entry to sell-out shows and elevated travel. Interestingly, Gen Z shoppers are more likely to use concierge services and, across the board, a trend emerged in shoppers utilising concierge providers to bypass waiting lists and take on the labour of time-consuming tasks when it comes to accessing luxury goods and experiences.
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The event featured a panel discussion to explore these findings, moderated by Vogue Business head of custom insights Anusha Couttigane. It was kicked off by Capital One’s head of Premium Card, Katie Swegle. Swegle highlighted that both Capital One and David Yurman are relatively young organisations, having been established in 1994 and 1980, respectively, among competitors who typically have extremely long histories in the market. “The benefit of coming from a young company is there’s no playbook. You’re building the playbook every single day,” said Swegle. This youthful approach to business makes each brand more agile and alert to the ever-changing needs of shoppers, and also able to react intentionally when new opportunities are identified, such as demand for travel or cultural pursuits. She spoke about how Capital One identified a very clear gap and launched its Venture X card to deliver value in terms of rewards and benefits for luxury shoppers. “These are benefits that you don’t have to jump through hoops to figure out how to use them.”
A favourite card perk of luxury travellers is access to airport lounges, given their increasing desire to travel. “It’s not always a joyful experience, so we really want to reinvent the lounge experience,” explained Swegle. Capital One has so far launched three bespoke lounges and, on the day of the event, had just opened its fourth lounge location, Capital One Landing, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The Landing focuses on offering a differentiated dining experience — not just from regular airport food, but a distinct dining experience that people would want to access, with a culinary concept crafted by Michelin-starred chef José Andrés. Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders can also get exclusive reservations for Capital One Landing before they arrive at the airport via the mobile app.
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At jewellers David Yurman, VP of brand strategy and partnerships Erum Chaudhry said that “experiences are the cornerstone of luxury” — and developing a holistic experience across different channels has been key. While store interactions take precedence, when referencing the research, Chaudhry highlighted just how time-poor shoppers really are. They don’t always want to come into stores, so ensuring customers are able to experience the brand outside of the store is a strategic priority, she said.
On another note, Chaudhry discussed the benefits of the cross-over between luxury and sport. “One of the gaps we saw is how do we build emotional consideration with men when you can’t market it in the same way. When we did some research we saw that sports was the number one interest for high-net-worth men — the NFL, the NBA, Formula One were all up there. The NBA came up as a clear winner for us. We partnered with a mix of seven NBA players, a mix of rookies and seasoned players, and it gave us a nice cross-section of cities, ages and styles,” Chaudhry said, referencing the tunnel walk as a particularly influential moment.
She added that the brand also looked at the needs of very important clients (VICs) and created private suites and shopping experiences for them. The objective of these experiences wasn’t sales, but the commercial response was incredible. She also highlighted that while the experiences were targeted at male consumers, many brought their wives or partners, so there was a halo effect on the more traditional jewellery customer. This exposes the power of culture to cross-fertilise engagement between what have historically been treated as gendered pursuits (sports and jewellery).
Looking at how exclusive access is delivered to customers, Swegle spoke about Capital One’s acquisition of Velocity Black, an elevated lifestyle proposition, in May 2023. She discussed the watering down of the term ‘concierge’, and Velocity Black’s desire to bring ease of access and exclusive experiences into the fold. “Time is the ultimate currency for these people. They can’t buy more of it,” she said, illustrating how consumers today are forced to use a plethora of booking apps whether it be for dinner or travel. The aim was to create something that simplified discovery and access, a one-stop for consumer needs, she explained.
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Velocity Black provides world-class experiences for members and 24/7 access to expert advisors across several of their lifestyle passions, including travel, dining, entertainment and luxury goods. Vogue Business’s Couttigane added that the latest Vogue Business Index points to this as a growing trend, with an increasing number of brands providing direct access to advisors via tools like live chat or Whatsapp.
When it comes to building relationships with high-spending clientele, Chaudhry said David Yurman is evolving its strategy. “The other thing we’ve started doing is bringing them into these events we’re doing with press and celebrities and inviting them to celebrate with us… It’s really important that they feel very connected to the brand,” she said. “We have shoppers who are spending upwards of $70,000 and they’re coming back eight times a year and that’s because of this constant personalisation and connection that we have with them.”
The conversation ended with an exploration into changing travel habits, given the astronomical rise in demand for the sector. Fifty-four per cent of Gen Z respondents said they travel at least once a month, which is considerably higher than the 40 per cent of millennials, 21 per cent of Gen X and just 9 per cent of boomers who said the same. Swegle added that the youngest cohort of luxury consumers is much less focused on status — something that’s had an impact on loyalty versus previous generations who often had airline or hotel preferences. “This generation is looking for a lot more flexibility,” she said, meaning they seek out credit cards, for example, that are not tied to a particular brand to maximise benefits across multiple airlines and travel partners.
She also touched on the rise in “skillcations” where younger luxury travellers are seeking out holidays that they leave having acquired a new skill or specialist knowledge, rather than the typical beach vacation. To this end, Capital One has been creating food-focused itineraries with partners in destinations like Seville, where during Feria guests were invited to meet Chef José Andrés, experience food, flamenco dancing and sherry tasting, for instance, “so they can say something more than just, ‘I went to Seville and I ate there’”. She added that multigenerational travel is also a rising trend, such as family reunions at luxury villa rentals where services like a private chef can be brought in.
Chaudhry built on the idea of multigenerational engagement, citing the TikTok virality that followed the Bama Rush documentary and the subsequent interest in the styling tips of sorority hopefuls at the University of Alabama. David Yurman bracelets emerged as a staple in #OOTD posts, with many of those featuring having inherited them from their mothers or grandmothers, creating an organic moment that transcends generations. Swegle and Chaudhry finished by emphasising the importance of aligning experiences to brand values, as well as to the interests of consumers — whether that’s philanthropy, art or sports. The event closed with networking and canapés among the sweeping views of the Nine Orchard rooftop in New York City.
The research cited here is based on an online survey Vogue Business conducted in September 2024 reaching 1,116 respondents in the US. The survey covered all ages above 18, with 46 per cent of the sample being under 30 and 54 per cent being over 30. All respondents had an income above $50,000, with 30 per cent having incomes between $50,000 and $100,000, 38 per cent with incomes between $100,000 and $300,000, and 32 per cent with incomes above $300,000.
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