Luxury marketers Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Prada and Hermès are among the top 10 most-searched for handbag brands globally, proving that European tradition rules in the eyes of luxury consumers, according to the World Luxury Index Handbags report.
The Hermès Birkin bag is the most-searched for handbag model across the top eight global markets studied, which include Britain, the United States, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, Brazil and India. Meanwhile, the country with the most searches for luxury handbags is Britain, with 422 searches per 1,000 Internet users.
“Handbags are the perfect accessory,” said Tamar Koifman, head of marketing at the Digital Luxury Group, Geneva, Switzerland. “They do not have to be fitted, they are paraded and visible at all times and they provide the wearer with a way to make a functional piece also a statement piece.
“Handbags are also a major piece of business for big luxury brands and we felt there was an opportunity to study this particular segment further,” she said.
“We found it interesting that the country that is the most luxury-handbag-crazy is not the U.S., France, or Italy, but Britain."
World Luxury Index Handbags, in partnership with the Luxury Society, is Digital Luxury Group’s first digital analysis of the luxury handbag industry. It covered more than 130 luxury handbag brands in more than 130 million consumer searches on the top search engines.
Got it in the bag
Coach is the No. 1 most-searched for brand in the world, followed by Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Longchamp, Prada, Hermès, Mulberry, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors.
These are followed by Burberry, Chloé, Céline, Fendi, Kate Spade, Dolce & Gabbana, Balenciaga, Christian Dior, Tory Burch and Miu Miu to round out the top 20.
The desirability, visibility and accessibility of luxury handbags have attributed to their strong performance and widespread recognition, per the report.
Consumers in Britain do the most searches for luxury handbags. The U.S., Italy and France follow with 315 searches, 196 searches and 185 searches per 1,000 users, respectively.
Next, Germany has 97 searches per 1,000 users, Japan has 52 searches, Brazil has 13 searches and India has 12 searches.
“We noticed that of the top 50 brands, 14 are American brands while 36 are European,” Ms. Koifman said.
“From this study and studies in the past, we have seen that U.S. brands are still struggling to compete with their European counterparts when it comes to global marketing," she said.
The report also examined the top three most-searched for handbag types.
The top bag, Hermès’ Birkin, is most-searched for in its crocodile leather skin in the U.S., Britain and France. This is one of the most expensive materials used.
In addition, the orange Birkin is most searched-for in the U.S., tan is searched-for in Britain and black is searched-for in France.
The Chanel 2.55 bag is the No. 2 most-searched for handbag globally. Consumers in the U.S. search for this bag most.
Chanel 2.55
Searches for sizes are most common with the keywords jumbo, medium or mini. Colors most-searched for include gold in the U.S., beige in Italy and silver in Britain.
The Louis Vuitton Speedy is the No. 3 most-searched for handbag. Searches come mostly from the U.S., Germany, France and Britain.
Louis Vuitton Speedy 35 with shoulder strap
In the U.S., the Louis Vuitton Damier canvas in Azur is the most-searched material, but British consumers search for the classic monogram canvas.
Market measure
As to be expected, there are some discrepancies depending on the market.
Japanese consumers have moved on from Louis Vuitton. In the country, the brand ranked No. 9 and it is the only market where Louis Vuitton does not rank in the top five.
The Economist newspaper reported that 8 percent of Japanese women own a Louis Vuitton product, so consumers are likely looking for something new, per the report.
Consumers in Brazil search frequently for niche handbag labels. Relative to other markets, Céline, Balenciaga and Goyard ranked high in the market.
Furthermore, consumers in France and Britain search for local brands.
Longchamp came in at No. 1 in France with approximately two times more searches for handbags than Louis Vuitton, which came in second.
In addition, Mulberry ranked first in the report in its home country Britain. The brand saw almost twice the number of searches than No. 2 brand Chanel.
Luxury handbag marketers may want to sway campaigns in the markets studied according to the thought direction of consumers.
For example, a younger handbag brand might have more success when catering to Brazilian consumers, while a European luxury brand could conduct a local campaign.
There is also an opportunity for traditional luxury brands to swoop in on Japanese consumers who are looking for more options.
“The key learning from the study is that no market is the same,” Ms. Koifman said.
Final Take
Tricia Carr, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York