Higher prices driven by inflation are beginning to hit Saks Fifth Avenue’s affluent shoppers, in accordance with a recent survey by the retailer.
Some 62% of Saks customers said they plan to spend the identical amount or more on luxury goods in the subsequent few months, up from 68% in September when the corporate conducted its periodic Saks Luxury Pulse.
“We’re coming out of several years of aberrant growth, and I feel we’re in for some turbulence,” Saks.com CEO Marc Metrick told The Post. “We saw it coming late last yr and we’re experiencing it now.”
A survey of two,832 US shoppers over the age of 18 conducted January 13-17 also found that shoppers prioritized spending on travel, events and activities, followed by clothing.
In response to the survey, roughly 72% of Saks customers have already booked or plan to book a visit.
![Saks Fifth Avenue storefront with a pedestrian passing by.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000007777875.jpg?w=1024)
![Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York City.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000007777874.jpg?w=1024)
Holiday spending is uplifting for the posh retailer and traffic to the location is “strong”, but converting browsers to shoppers “is not where we might prefer it to be,” Metrick said.
He said shoppers are “more considerate and shop longer”.
Of those earning $200,000 or more, about 68% plan to spend the identical amount or more on luxury items, up from 70% in September, the study found.
About 58% of shoppers earning between $100,000 and $199,000 plan to spend that much or more on luxury this spring, up from 66% in September.
Meanwhile, 55% of those earning lower than $100,000 plan to spend the identical amount, down from 61%.
![Marek Metric](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000006356771.jpg?w=1024)
Saks uses the index as an indicator of consumer sentiment to find out which services customers value.
“We actually enjoy in-store returns and have done all the pieces we are able to at our Saks Fifth Avenue stores” to accommodate shoppers who’ve purchased something online and need to return it in-store. Metrick said there are special return desks dedicated to online returns.
Last month, Neiman Marcus eliminated store returns desks, The Post reported, as a part of a layoff of nearly 5% of its workforce.