McKinsey’s head of retail practises in Central and South America Tracy Francis, luxury analyst Erwan Rambourg and Warby Parker’s SVP of retail Sandy Gilsenan join Doug Stephens, founder of Retail Prophet, to examine the global forces redefining consumer behaviour and circumstances, and the implications on retail habits.

BoF assesses how the climate crisis and economic downturns are impacting consumer behaviour and retail practices, before addressing the new centres of wealth and income polarisation on a global scale. In the US, for example, more than 50 percent of American wealth in 2020 was held by Baby Boomers, or those born between 1946 and 1964, while Millennials held less than 10 percent, according to Harvard Business Review. In contrast, young consumers in China are powering an unprecedented level of spending as the first generation to come of age during China’s economic revolution — almost 80 percent of luxury spending in China today is by those under the age of 40.

The conversation goes on to analyse younger consumers’ relationship with luxury, and the industry’s evolution in democratising access for such consumers, before considering the strategy behind one direct-to-consumer brand’s post-pandemic brick-and-mortar expansion plan, attuned to the next-gen consumer whose expectations far exceed those of previous generations.

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