Luxury: Where Next?

Abstract

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The luxury industry is undergoing a complex evolution in response to increasingly polarized societies, multicultural audiences, and frantically digitized marketplaces, balancing tradition with innovation and exclusivity with accessibility. As luxury consumption shifts from conspicuous to inconspicuous, from offline to online, and from traditional goods to experiences, consumer expectations are becoming increasingly nuanced. Addressing these new dynamic trends, this article provides insights into the current luxury research within marketing. We identify three major thematic areas shaping the field: the emergence of luxury identities, the integration of sustainability and ESG, and the acceleration of digital transformation. Each theme is enriched by sub-themes addressing current and future challenges. We offer a forward-looking research agenda that highlights significant theoretical and practical implications for luxury brand management in modern marketplaces, which are simultaneously democratized yet paradoxically exclusive. These multifaceted directions are aimed to foster the evolution of luxury research in alignment with societal and technological advancements.