Luxury Consumption Index in Freefall

Luxury consumer confidence, as measured by Unity Marketing’s Luxury Consumption Index (LCI), continued its downward trajectory in the third quarter 2008, dropping 10.7 points to reach a historic low of 40.3 points, reports Retailer Daily.

That’s the lowest level since Unity started measuring affluent consumer confidence at the end of 2003:

“Since the middle of 2007, the LCI has been in free fall, dropping more than half of its value to reach an all time low of 40.3 points at the end of third quarter 2008. But what is of more importance to luxury marketers than the decline in the LCI is that luxury consumers are taking action in response to the current economic crisis,” said Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing.

Among affluents’ shopping-behavior changes, according to Danziger: