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Consumers are willing to spend on travel鈥攗nder the right circumstances: Cruises, premium travel, and concert tourism are all seeing healthy demand despite industry headwinds.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss how department stores are getting on, how they鈥檙e evolving, and what the contemporary department store needs to do to stick around. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Vice President of Content Suzy Davidkhanian and Senior Analyst Carina Perkins.

Contracting with more than one currency provider is a luxury few smaller players can afford. Even subbing in a different currency provider can be prohibitively expensive, as most planning software and transaction infrastructure was built on Nielsen. But most advertisers who used alternative currencies found them to be effective replacements.

This fall, Rakuten will launch Rakuten+, an invite-only, premium rewards program offering a guaranteed 10% cash back on items from luxury brands. Rakuten will aim its outreach at users who have a history of buying luxury goods through its rewards platform. It also chose the brands partly by using data about which ones its biggest-spending customers showed the greatest interest in.

The department store is executing a turnaround plan that includes revamping merchandise and store displays, investing in staff, and doubling down on the relatively resilient luxury and beauty categories. Macy鈥檚 is seeing modest success at the 50 stores where those changes have been implemented.

GenAI and social are set to heavily influence the UK commerce and advertising landscape in 2025, while thrifty consumer behaviors persist and video viewing shifts to mostly digital.

Looking ahead: Higher-end and luxury retailers may see opportunities with more confident high-earners this year. Discount retailers will need to remain focused on deals and value in order to get lower-income consumers to spend. 2. Consumers are worried about tariffs and inflation.

So I'm going to add another luxury brand to the mix, and that's Gucci, which made a kind of, I would say disappointment came out of left field, but they brought in Demna, who is currently the creative director of Balenciaga to revamp the brand. And investors weren't pleased about that.

Airlines leveraging digital surfaces in airport lounges or seat-back screens on planes to reach passengers based on ticket status or destination, e.g., luxury goods advertised to first-class passengers during a flight.

They also exhibit a readiness to pay a 9% to 15% premium for such products, particularly in categories like luxury goods, food, and electronics.

GenAI tool Jacquard helped luxury apparel marketplace Farfetch test creative with segments and personalize email copy. Optimizing paid search (medium impact, easy to implement). Why genAI? Advertisers buy search ads on keywords or word combinations. Search advertisers can use genAI to identify new keywords, group them in novel ways, and assess match levels that they may not have considered.

Est茅e Lauder partners with India鈥檚 government to boost local beauty brands: The company is the latest to invest in the country as interest in premium beauty soars.

Duty-free sales in Hainan province, a popular destination for luxury shopping, fell 29.3% YoY in 2024, per Reuters. Similarly, retail sales in Hong Kong fell 7.3% YoY in November, the ninth-straight month of declines, despite a 5.3% YoY increase in the number of visitors from mainland China.

Even wealthier households are spending cautiously, in part because of the country鈥檚 economic struggles but also because a government crackdown on 鈥渨ealth flaunting鈥� has discouraged conspicuous consumption鈥� particularly of luxury goods. Consumer sentiment and demand are better in lower-tier cities.

Hyatt plans to open over 50 luxury and lifestyle hotels globally by 2026. The company has doubled its luxury room count since 2017, with 70% of its hotel rooms now categorized as luxury or 鈥渦pper upscale.鈥�. Delta is reconfiguring its planes to increase premium seating and adding perks like upgraded lounges and Shake Shack burgers to enhance its appeal to frequent flyers.