LONDON — Consumers are now seeking the “pleasure factor” by investing in luxury items from the likes of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, according to the FutureBrand Index 2021 published Wednesday by brand consultancy firm FutureBrand, a subsidiary of the Interpublic Group of Companies.
Unlike other studies, this annual index is not based on consumer research. Instead, it tracks PwC’s Global Top 100 Companies by market capitalization on perception strength rather than financial strength.
It finds that companies providing luxury goods or online shopping have been positively impacted by the pandemic, as consumer priorities and access shifted as a result of lockdowns.
The report said LVMH in particular has benefited from the events of the last 12 months, as it jumped 37 places from 66th to 29th in this year’s perception report. Online shopping giants Amazon and Alibaba also experienced a boost, rising 13 and 12 places, respectively.
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Companies associated most strongly with a brick-and-mortar offering have suffered over the last 12 months, with the likes of Walmart Inc. and McDonald’s falling sharply down the index ranking.
At the same time, data shows that business-to-business companies have become household names. Tech and Pharma companies, which were seen lower down the 2020 list, such as ASML and Danaher, have surged forward as behind-the-scenes as society focuses on the innovation that will help the world come out of the pandemic.
Jon Tipple, global chief strategy officer at FutureBrand, said this year’s research has revealed “a huge shift in the way companies work and how they convey their mission to their consumers.”
“Those that look set to thrive in a post-pandemic world are companies prioritizing innovation to consistently impact individual well-being and drive change for good at scale….Consumers are also looking for the ‘feel good’ factor; in a period of 12 months when so much has been taken away from us, luxury brands like Apple and LVMH have done particularly well,” he added.
The top ten brands in the index are ASML Holdings, Apple, Prosus NV, Danaher Corp, NextEra Energy, TSMC, Kweichow Moutai, Ping an Insurance, Reliance Industries and Microsoft.
