While most countries have seen a shift in their consumption patterns in the 21st century, India has certainly been one of the leaders in that trend. India, the 5th largest economy in the world, has arrived in the global context and is a powerful nation to reckon with. One of the sectors where India has progressed the most, being a key factor in driving Indian’s economic success, is the luxury market.
Luxury experience, for the most part, was only about exclusivity, innovation, fitting in, social status, and image-building. It was never about necessity and survival. This is what kept most Indians, ever since Independence in 1947, slightly detached from the luxury experience. While India is still a developing and growing nation, their taste and consumption preferences have changed drastically. Those who have driven this change are mainly millennials and Gen-Z people.
The Gen Alpha and the Boomers were mainly focused on important things that were the need of the hour – Buying a house, or renting a property, getting a steady flow of food and income, wearing comfortable clothes, etc. And when things would get better for them, which would often take years, they could afford to spend on luxury, which again, was different for them. It could be traveling, eating out, or wearing a fancy accessory that they wouldn’t have worn otherwise. As time passed, and the world economy improved, including that of India, consumption patterns changed.
Enter the 21st century, and India has significantly ramped up their luxury choices. It isn’t just with consumption, but India is taking the entire field of luxury very seriously. More and more business colleges in India are now teaching Luxury Management as a part of their curriculum.
There are more jobs in the luxury sector today since plenty of foreign brands are looking at India differently altogether now. There are many more investments in India, far more chains and stores opening up, and an increased presence of International luxury brands in India in recent years.
There was a Christian Dior runway show at the iconic Gateway of India in Mumbai last year, there was a Vivienne Westwood fashion show in Mumbai, Estee Lauder saw a two-times growth in India in the last two years, Apple hit a record high sales in iPhones in India, and Aditya Birla Fashion Retail has announced a partnership with French luxury departmental store Galeries Lafayette. With this partnership, flagship stores in Mumbai and Delhi will house over 200 luxury brands. Reliance Industries has partnered with Valentino and Balenciaga to bring them to India.
Not to forget, the lavish wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant, which had a ton of VIP guests from Hollywood. Besides the wedding itself, it was a grand opportunity to display India’s wealth to the world. It displayed India’s soft power and opened up the nation to a host of foreign brands that would not have invested in the country otherwise. The origin of this shift is the increasing consumption of luxury products.
Gen Z and millennials are spending way more on products that they want. Be it a nice expensive watch, or spending thousands on a pair of pants, or traveling to an exotic holiday destination, Gen Z and millennials wouldn’t think twice before spending their own hard-earned money on these products or services. These two generations are all about living in the moment, wearing what suits their personality, making a difference to the world, building a community together, and displaying their little joys and successes to the world.
In other words, they aren’t too focused on saving and preserving for the future. While sustainable spending is a major part of their lifestyle too, but is mainly due to the preservation and conservation of nature. The Gen Z and the millennials are very conscious about global warming and are constantly searching for ways to minimize it. If that includes spending on items that are not only luxurious but also contribute to the environment, their buying preference will be geared that way.
For example, tourism isn’t just about traveling in plush places and living in luxurious hotels. It is about mixing opulence with ecological responsibility, such as Eco-villages. Virtual fitting rooms, customizable designs, and on-demand production are all solutions to prevent overproduction waste.
People from a generation older than millennials still put a lot of emphasis on putting their money to good use, such as buying a flat or a home. For millennials and Gen Z, aesthetics may matter a lot more than for others. It is important to them what jewelry they wear, their fashion choice, and their taste in food and restaurants. Owing to this shift in luxury spending, many people who did not spend earlier are also realizing the potential of luxury. They are realizing that they always could spend, but the mindset was different.
There are now studies conducted on why someone would spend so much money on a pair of clothes, or why this shift is happening in buying patterns. One of the main reasons is that basic items aren’t the need of the hour anymore. For the first time in history, the demand in the market isn’t overwhelmed by necessary items.
Instead, there is a push for improving the standard of living. For the first time, interior designers are in high demand. That is because there are more financially well-off people living in cities, who would want their homes to be decorated aesthetically and efficiently. The cost of that won’t be a burden to them anymore.
This overall shift in the way most millennials and Gen Z grew up, the upbringing they got, and the lack of financial struggle they saw, naturally pushed them towards a different lifestyle. They started looking at life from a very different lens, one where life didn’t have to be a struggle to achieve something in the future.
This new age reliance on luxury items is omnipresent in their lives. Be it watching OTTs, spending on concerts, or even flying first class, nothing is off the charts for them. The Gen Z, and the millennials are more likely to live in the moment, treat themselves fairly, and enjoy to the fullest. Plenty of them live by this phenomenon called the YOLO trend. It stands for ‘You Only Live Once.’ This new approach to living life allows Gen Z and millennials to indulge in something called ‘Experimental Luxury’.
The idea is that since they live only once, they buy whatever they fancy at the moment without worrying about saving. They are traveling to out-of-the-box destinations and eating in restaurants well out of their reach. This behavioural trend automatically creates a larger sale and consumption of luxury products. Since the majority of the consumer population in India today is either a millennial or a Gen Z, their shopping preferences are usually geared towards luxury products.
All of these factors had a combined effect on the luxury market and created a huge boom in the industry. Until last year, i.e., 2024, the luxury goods market in India was valued at $17.67 billion. While that in itself is a giant number, it will likely grow five to six times more in the next half-decade and reach around $85-90 billion by 2029-2030. The major reason behind this growth in the luxury market in India is attributed to the rise in affluent people, the buying and consumption preference of Gen Z and millennials, and the overall rise in the Indian economy.
As of 2025, India has a large number of affluent people who live and work in the country. The number of millionaires in India will also likely increase by 105% by 2026. Most of them come from middle-class families. Their preference for clothing, shopping, jewelry, and other accessories is geared more towards luxury products and services. It is simply because they can afford it without making any compromises in other necessary items.
Overall, the luxury market is booming in India, and with the buying preferences and lifestyle choices of Gen Z and millennials, it is only going to increase from here onwards.
