January 9, 2015
Art Basel
The retail art business is dramatically switching gears from a gallery-driven business to an online and direct-to-artist industry with 30 percent of affluent consumers purchasing online, according to a new report from Unity Marketing.
Affluent consumers who are purchasing art are educated, both male and female, and tend to be younger. For art retailers clinging on to their physical store location, it is vital they understand the demographics and trends of art buyers.
“Success in business starts with understanding the consumer, and understanding the consumer starts with demographics,” said Pam Danzinger, president of Unity Marketing, Stevens, PA.
"Art Gallery's Guide to the New Consumer Art Market: Retailer's Guide to Marketing Art in New Luxury Style" is based on Unity's Marketing research that is conducted every three months with an in-depth survey of affluent luxury consumers, defined by high-income (top 20 percent based upon income starting at about $100,000) and purchases of any 21 different categories of high-end/luxury good or services, including luxury art and antiques. This report includes the results of six continuous years of quarterly survey results, from 2008-2013.
Purchasing the perfect art
Less than one-third of households in the United States are headed by a person with their bachelor’s degree. For affluents that number is almost doubled to 60 percent and for those who are art buyers the statistic increases to 63 percent.
Those who are purchasing art are very educated and often have higher positions at work. These individuals also tend to be men and women under the age of 44 and they tend to shop alone.
“Young affluents will continue to grow in importance in the luxury market,” Ms. Danzinger said. “Oftentimes they have grown up in a more affluent household than their parents did, so they have experienced more ‘luxuries’ in their lives. Further they are more highly educated and educational attainment is key demographic variable for appreciation and interest in art.”
The average personal income of these individuals is at the highest when they are between 35 and 54, but those who are under 45 years of age are more willing to spend on luxuries such as art.
Art Basel in Miami Beach
As milliennials age, art directors are advised to pay attention to them. The peak income years for these individuals will be 2026. As for now, the millennials who are between 24 and 34 years old are the main target for luxury brands and art retailers to reach out to in preparation for their prime income years ahead.
Online retailer Amazon has become one of the main competitors in art buying. The Web site’s “Make an Offer” option allows consumers to bid on more than 150,000 items, including fine art.
BMW art car
Original art remains the top choice among buyers, with antique furniture and collectibles as the second choice.
For now, retail stores are still the top seller of art, but online sites are not too far behind.
Art in everything
In luxury brands the main art contribution seen is typically from brands participating in Art Basel.
For instance, Swiss accessories label Bally proved its design credibility with an installation launching during Art Basel in Switzerland.
Bally’s “Form Scratch” was an art piece resembling a house that was suspended over the Rhine River, with an accompanying exhibit dedicated to the work of architect Pierre Jeanneret. This allowed Bally to further communicate its own design aesthetic (see story).
Also, German automaker BMW supplemented its official partnership of Art Basel Miami Dec. 4-7 with a number of initiatives that elevated the brand’s visibility among the ultra-affluent consumers roaming about.
The brand’s Art Car series has commanded the respect of both auto and art enthusiasts around the world as top artists including Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, Jenny Holzer, Olafur Eliasson and Jeff Koons have designed a vehicle. The Lichtenstein BMW 320 Group 5 helped BMW gain credibility among the many guests who took advantage of the brand’s other offers (see story).
Art Basel and other art events and shows help spark the interest in art for a larger population of consumers. The increased interest will likely aid consumers in making purchasing decisions.
"Affluents have entered a season of austerity," Ms. Danzinger said. "The tale is told by the decline in spending and overall demand for art.
"In no other time have art customers had such a wide range of art-buying opportunities," she said. "Everyone is chasing the same customers, and chasing them very aggressively. "
Final Take
Nancy Buckley, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
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