According to the Wealth Report Asia 2018, Asian women record the highest consumption of luxurious goods globally. The report underscores the strength in demand for luxury goods and services in the Asia-Pacific region.

The key finding of the report by Bank Julius Baer, highlights that Chinese national, especially women are playing an integral role in the luxury spending behavior. One of the major reasons for this is the rise of e-commerce in the region and increase in the confidence of consumers towards shopping online and offline both.

Here’s what is accelerating the growth in global luxury spending in the Asia-Pacific region.

Womenomics in Asia

The report also highlights “His and Hers” Index basis on spending behavior of the people in Asia, which specifies the money spent on luxury items by males and females. The findings corroborate studies that gender-based pricing exists even in the luxury space, with prices for items in the Hers index costing more on average than the His index equivalent.

It marks a huge change in the personal capita income, the spending behavior and the tastes and preferences of women in the region, which is indeed driving the growth of the global luxury goods market. The report cites some of the precise reasons for the respective growth. It states, the purchasing power of women in Asia is increasingly gaining recognition, with more women in senior management positions becoming more financially savvy.

China’s Transition to Female-Centric Country

The world’s second largest economy dominates the growth in the spending behavior of women accounting for almost one third of the global luxury goods consumption, and by some estimates almost half.

The larger slice of the cake that has been grabbed by the Chinese women shows how the country has transitioned from being male-dominated to a female-centric country. The report notes that this change has come over the past five years in China, which puts the women at the forefront of the spending pattern of the country.

In China, with the rise in spending power, women are also spending more on products that were traditionally viewed as masculine domains. According to the report, cars, which are increasingly seen by females as a status symbol, constitute the highest proportion of spending among affluent females in China.

While Shanghai displaces Hong Kong as the most expensive city, Kuala Lumpur remains the most competitive in the market.

“While Chinese consumer confidence has weakened, we do not think that luxury sales will see a substantive decline but rather expect a moderation following peak profitability of the sector. Over the medium term, e-commerce and online luxury marketplaces could create greater pricing transparency, particularly in Asia, where online shopping is gaining pace”, concludes the report.