Inside the Facebook groups where Black luxury consumers shop freely

Sign up to receive the Vogue Business newsletter for the latest luxury news and insights, plus exclusive membership discounts. Tucked away in a private Facebook group, hundreds of thousands of women rave about their luxury purchases: a $1,600 Maison Goyard tote; $1,500 Chanel sandals; and a $1,490 Prada necklace, purchased as a “pre-birthday gift to myself”, according to the poster. “I am worth it.” The group, Black Girl Luxury, counts 380,000 members and is just one of many on the platform dedicated to Black women spending, sharing and gushing over designer fashion purchases. The groups are a safe space from the industry’s entrenched racism where many of the women have common experiences of being ignored at luxury stores or suspected of not having the means to make a big purchase. As the luxury industry continues to grapple with race, Facebook’s world of Black shoppers offers some clues for how it can build a new, more multicultural consumer market with a taste for opulence. For lifelong luxury shoppers like Ti Marie, a 36-year-old real estate investor in Columbus, Ohio, that all starts with centring Black women. Marie launched the Facebook group Black Girls Love Lux in 2019 after becoming fed up with racial profiling in the mainstream online luxury community. The group quickly exploded to more than 10,000 members as a place for Black women to share their love for luxury. “You’re told time and time again, ‘You’re not worthy’, or ‘You can’t attain something,’” Marie says. “But you say, ‘I can do what you do and buy what you buy.’” In stark contrast to the aloof hauteur of luxury fashion, the tone among these groups is overwhelmingly positive. Keysha Nicole Best, a 44-year-old government worker based between Virginia and North Carolina, is adamant they centre connections around Black joy. Many of the women in the group have some tale of adversity and resilience that their luxury purchase represents, says Best, who launched Black Girl Luxury in 2022. Some of the women grew up poor, escaped abusive partners or are raising children as single mums. But Best says that relating to each other over shared traumas is not the key to the group’s success. Instead, it is a place where the women can “heal from it and accept it because if not, you can’t enjoy whatever successes you’ve achieved”, she says. Marie with Black Girls Love Lux ties this upbeat culture to a new “soft life” trend among Black women. For generations, Black households were characterised by economic struggle, whereby a stereotypical “strong Black woman” was mythologised as having some superhero immunity to everyday racism and sexism. Instead, these groups allow Black women to rest and indulge. “That luxury experience is saying, ‘I am no longer deemed as unworthy or a lower class citizen,’” says Marie. “I am as good as anyone else.” That desire for community and self-expression through upscale purchases is also reflected in market data. Compared to an average of 72 per cent of consumers, 75 per cent of Black shoppers say luxury products help them express their individuality, according to Brittany Steiger, senior analyst of retail and e-commerce at industry research firm Mintel. In turn, Black shoppers expect luxury brands to reflect back their appreciation. Sixty-seven per cent of Black consumers say brands that cater to Black consumers should consider these shoppers when scouting places to launch new stores or when building online communities and campaigns, she adds. Integrating Black shoppers into their marketing and store strategies could help high-end brands draw out those untapped dollars. “There’s a lot of emotional resonance to be had there,” says Steiger. “It’s really meaningful to their growing base of customers and provides this opportunity to learn about different aspects of cultural heritage and to express that through the brand.” Not only do these groups fulfil a social need, they’re fuelling a booming retail market. Marie’s other Facebook group called ModLuxe Lounge is a safe place for Black women to buy and sell luxury goods. Now, with more than 3,000 vetted members, Marie estimates that the group facilitates millions of dollars in secondhand luxury sales per year. The women in these groups have also spurred new businesses. Balacía Jewelry, a Dallas-based luxury jewellery company, credits the community for a spike in sales this year. Through a chain of referrals, stemming from the Black Girl Luxury group, it sold $125,000 worth of jewellery, including an $8,500 radiant-cut diamond engagement ring. “It’s just been a blessing,” said Balacía founder Jasmine Carter. For brands, this type of success with Black shoppers could be filtered through an “accessible luxury” strategy, says Steiger. Luxury isn’t meant to be “affordable”, but brands could consider small changes like accepting buy-now, pay-later options to help shoppers make bigger purchases. Brands can also embrace the resale market where prices are lower — and where young aspirational shoppers are browsing. As far as designs go, brands should consider expanding ‘nude-tone’ pieces to complement a broader range of skin colours. They could also expand their clothing sizing to make it easier for shoppers to pick up a cocktail dress that complements a new pair of heels. Adding more Black employees across the business — from product development to styling — can also help brands create pieces that further attract Black shoppers. These Black luxury dollars are only expected to increase. As Black wealth grows, non-white consumers are projected to account for anywhere between 25 per cent and 30 per cent of luxury sales by 2025, according to a 2020 Bain-Altagamma Luxury Goods Worldwide Market study. Marie says luxury brands should also understand that Black shoppers don’t buy luxury simply to be accepted into fashion’s restricted upper echelons. “Once you value yourself you want every aspect of your life to show that value,” she explains. “Where before you had to fall in line and do bottom of the barrel work, now you see Black people waking up and getting empowered and living life as they want.” Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.

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