China’s luxury spending seen boosting global sales in 2026 despite headwinds

Luxury is back. Following a relatively stagnant 2025, the industry is forecast to accelerate in 2026, with China’s long-awaited recovery emerging as a pivotal factor, even as the war in Iran casts a shadow over global markets, according to analysts.Estimates vary, but HSBC, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas all forecast global sales growth ranging from 5.5 to 6 per cent this year.“We believe it is time to look at the sector, as we think the organic sales growth rate should further accelerate in 2026 and return to growth after two years of more muted sales growth rates … mostly driven by the two key drivers of growth: the US and China,” wrote HSBC analysts led by Anne-Laure Bismuth in a March 30 note.Despite the war in Iran and turmoil in global energy markets, HSBC held its forecasts for the two main drivers of luxury growth – mainland China at 8 per cent and the United States at 10 per cent – while cutting its outlook for Europe from 4 to 2.5 per cent and revising the Middle East from 6 per cent growth to a 5 per cent decline.Agreeing that China’s recovery would be a crucial driver for the sector this year, analysts from Deutsche Bank cautioned that the recovery might be “volatile” as the country’s economy still faces many challenges, namely the lingering property crisis.China’s real estate downturn might be showing early signs of stabilisation, according to analysts, but big uncertainties remain. In February, home prices in the four tier-one cities flatlined, month on month, ending nine consecutive months of decline. Year on year, however, the picture remains grimmer: new home prices in those cities fell 2.2 per cent, a 0.1 percentage point steeper drop than the month before, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.