The Most Searched For Handbag Brands in the World

Luxury Society & Digital Luxury Group present another installment of the World Luxury Index™, the first digital analysis of the luxury handbag market.

Handbags have become one of the most coveted items in the luxury goods market. The desirability, visibility and accessibility of luxury handbags have atributed to their strong performance and widespread recognition.

More and more, the world wide web is where consumers confirm their desire for handbag brands, and increasingly, specific model. As consumers shift from the boutique to their smartphones, tablets and computers to learn more about the products they covet.

Digital Luxury Group and Luxury Society are proud to annouce the launch of the World Luxury Index™ Handbags. Unveiling for the first time, a ranking and analysis of the most searched-for handbag brands within the luxury industry, based on the unbiased search inputs coming from global luxury consumers in major search engines.

Our research examines over 130 brands, through 130 million+ searches, in eight countries. In a bid to better understand the search behaviours of consumers seeking both premium brands – such as Coach, Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Furla and Longchamp – and major luxury brands – such as Armani, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Chanel, Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo and Prada. Segmented insights are available upon request.

The Top 10 Most Searched Luxury Handbag Brands Globally

The British Love Bags

Measuring the total volume of searches by country can be misleading when considering a market’s size. The affinity index (below) looks at the number of handbag searches per 1000 internet users. The UK shows the highest affinity for luxury handbags with 422 searches per 1000 internet users.

Number of Handbag Searches per 1000 Internet Users

Varying Market Demand for Leading Brands

Japanese consumers are beginning to move beyond their famed affection for Louis Vuitton handbags, in a market where 85% of Japanese women already own a Louis Vuitton product (The Economist). The brand ranks 9th in Japan, and makes it the only country where Louis Vuitton does not rank in the top 5.

In the European market, Coach is much less popular than its global #1 ranking would suggest. The American brand ranks only 29th in Italy, 19th in France, 11th in Germany and 7th in the UK.

In France, Lonchamp is the most desired brand online, with almost twice the searches for handbags than Louis Vuitton, which comes in 2nd.

“ Louis Vuitton now ranks 9th in Japan, the only country where the brand does not rank in the Top 5 ”

Similarly in the UK, demand reveals Britain’s Mulberry as the bag of choice, where it ranks in first place with almost twice the number of searches than 2nd brand Chanel.

The Brazilian market is showing preference for brands slightly outside the sphere of the mega-mainstream. Brands that do notably well in Brazil compared to other markets include Céline (ranked 3rd in Brazil, 13th globally), Balenciaga (7th in Brazil, 17th globally), and Goyard (11th in Brazil, 29th globally).

Finally, American brand Kate Spade seems to be making a comeback, where its renewed popularity places it in the top 10 ranking in the US.

Different Icons in Different Geographies

The Hermès Birkin is the most searched for iconic model across all markets. In the US, UK & France, crocodile is the most-­searched for material, where the Americans prefer Orange, the British Tan and the French Black.

The US has the largest share of searches for the Chanel 2.55, followed by Italy and the UK. In the major markets, consumers searching for sizes most commonly search for jumbo, medium and mini respectively, all in the original black Caviar leather.

The largest share of searches for the Louis Vuitton Speedy come from the US, Germany, France and the UK respectively. In the US, the Damier canvas in Azur (cream is the most searched material, whereas in the UK the traditional (brown) Monogram canvas is most popular.

The World Luxury Index is an ongoing international ranking and analysis of the most searched-for brands within the luxury industry, covering over 400 brands within six key segments, launched in partnership between Digital Luxury Group & Luxury Society. Please see previous editions below:

- The Top 50 Most-Searched for Luxury Brands in Russia
- The Top 50 Most-Searched for Luxury Brands in China
- The Top 50 Most-Searched for Luxury Brands in the United States

The full report is available online at: dlgr.com/handbags. More detailed data and analysis on a particular segment or brand is available upon request.

For any further enquiries regarding the index or research, please contact Tamar Koifman of Digital Luxury Group, tkoifman@digital-luxury.com