De Beers New Research Highlights Generational Shift In Attitudes Towards Provenance Of Luxury Goods

LONDON, UK – Media
OutReach – 23 November 2021 – New research published
today in De Beers Group’s latest Diamond Insight ‘Flash’ Report
highlights that consumer attitudes towards provenance are changing as younger generations
value ethics and sustainability assurances beyond simply knowing where a
product originated.

De Beers’ new global “I do.”  campaign centred on commitments to ourselves, to one another and the wider world.

Based on research conducted among 1,000 US consumers, the report
found that while consumers aged 50 and above cited quality factors as being
their most important considerations relating to provenance of luxury goods (for
example, French champagne, Italian cashmere), the 18 to 34 age cohort
over-indexed on factors such as ‘human rights,’ ‘environmental impact’ and
‘from a company whose values I agree with.’

The research also found that consumers who valued information about
a product’s provenance were prepared to pay a premium for this assurance, with affluent
consumers being the most likely to pay a premium. Sixty-four per cent of all
consumers and 73 per cent of affluent consumers (those with household income of
more than US$150K per year) said they were willing to pay more for a product if
its place of origin mattered to them. However, only seven per cent of consumers
said they believed it was ‘very easy’ to discover where their products
originated from, while another 29 per cent said it was only ‘somewhat easy’.
More than half of consumers surveyed said it was ‘somewhat or very difficult to
understand the story behind the items they buy’.

The study also found that while essential health and safety items
such as food, cars and skincare ranked most highly as categories for which consumers
were concerned about provenance, 34 per cent said they ‘care a lot’ about
luxury goods and 35 per cent said the same about diamonds, highlighting that consumers
are increasingly concerned about where and how their discretionary items are
made.

Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: “It’s clear from this
research that while provenance remains of high importance to luxury consumers, the
meaning associated with provenance is shifting. Younger generations want
assurance of the positive impact a product has created beyond simply knowing
where it originated. This is creating a new status in luxury, where consumers
want to show the world they care through their luxury purchases and are
increasingly prepared to pay a premium to do so.”

The full Diamond Insight ‘Flash’ Report is available to
download here.