White paper · 2024 · Mungo Schmidt

The Rise of Next Gen Luxurians

Gen Z is arriving in luxury earlier, richer and more discerning than any generation before it — and most of the industry isn't ready. Originally published as an NXGN white paper for Luxury Branding.

In brief

The luxury market is being reshaped by a demographic it consistently underestimates. Gen Z is already the largest generational cohort on earth — 2.1 billion people, 26% of the global population — and its spending power is projected to exceed the current level of Millennials by the turn of the decade.

They're not just richer sooner; they buy differently. Gen Z consumers make their first luxury purchases an average of 3–5 years earlier than their Millennial predecessors — at 15 rather than 18–20 — and by 2030, Generations Z and Alpha will together account for one-third of the luxury goods market, with spending growing 60% faster than Millennials' between now and then.

Gen Z isn't just the future; it is the present — already wielding significant influence and purchasing power.

Why it matters for venues

Early exposure has fast-tracked this generation along the discernment curve. They present symptoms of experience fatigue at a far younger age than any cohort before them — "been there, done that" by their mid-twenties. Instagram and TikTok have made the once-exclusive feel abundant. The result is a customer who cannot be impressed by the standard playbook, and an industry that anecdotally still meets them with scepticism at the door.

What resonates instead: authenticity, community and unconventionality. Bespoke encounters over commoditised experiences. Spontaneous, genuine moments over curated perfection — 86% of Gen Z agree that "it's normal to be weird."

The Latent view

This paper is half the argument for why Latent exists. The generation with the fastest-growing spending power values transformative, characterful experiences over hard goods — and punishes the generic. A venue's overlooked room, given its own identity, sound and programme, is precisely the kind of unconventional destination this audience seeks out and spends in. The proof is downstairs at MAYA.

Originally published as an NXGN white paper, © 2024 Luxury Branding Pty (Ltd). Written by Mungo Schmidt during his tenure as Creative Strategist & NXGN Lead. Republished on the Latent journal with permission. Full bibliography in the PDF.