Insight Flash: Retailers and brands are shifting their sights towards high-income shoppers to buoy spend as consumer budgets become increasingly pressured
As the US economy faces mounting headwinds in 2025 and personal savings rates near pre-pandemic levels, consumer wallets have been increasingly stretched. This pressure has been disproportionately felt by lower-income consumers, who have become more price-conscious and strained by inflation. In response, merchant strategies around target shopper cohorts have varied. Some have renewed their focus on core customer segments, while others have aggressively targeted cohorts with the most resilient spending power – high-income shoppers.
Consumer Edge transaction and demographic data quantifies the impact of these strategies, by capturing changes to industry and brand penetration by income cohort. This data highlights the percentage of spend by income bracket in Q1 2025 and comparatively Q1 2024. The delta in these figures reveals which brands have increased their exposure to high-income shoppers. Industries that have seen brands pivot the most towards high-income consumers include Apparel, Accessories, & Footwear, Restaurants, and Sporting Goods, Hobby, Toy, & Game merchants.
High-Income Shopper Penetration in Apparel, Accessories, & Footwear
The Apparel, Accessories, & Footwear sector has had some of the most dramatic brand shifts towards high-income shoppers. For some brands, economic conditions have renewed their focus on these consumers. Tecovas, for example, has attracted these shoppers with premium in-store experiences, such as beverages, boot shines, and customization options – all complimentary. Similarly, Revolve appeals to these customers with premium product lines and luxury brands. Brands like Adidas, SKIMS, and OOFOS actively lean in through aspirational marketing and merchandising, which targets higher-income shoppers through limited-edition releases and celebrity partnerships.
In addition to brands with an established high-income shopper focus, several others have recently shifted their strategies to explicitly target this group. These strategic pivots are driven by various factors, including the desire to insulate themselves from the impact of changing trade policies, to establish inspirational thought leadership in their category, or to tap into segments that their brand currently underserves. For instance, Bonobos announced this Spring a renewed focus on a younger, more urban, higher income shopper. Other brands have grown organically with the high-income shoppers without a direct targeting strategy. VICI Collection, for example, has expanded its high-income shopper penetration significantly by integrating seamless online and offline shopping experiences while building engaging in-store experiences. Merrell has similarly revitalized its brand by shifting product mix and marketing efforts toward sustainable materials and urban-trail hybrid designs, appealing to the luxury “gorpcore” trend. Further, Rally House, with its locally inspired merchandise and personalized shopping experience, has naturally leaned in with high-income shoppers.
Beyond these targeted and organic growth stories, there are brands that have increasingly appealed to high-income shoppers through their overall quality and value positions. While this includes Clarks, Off Broadway, and Halara, one of the most interesting brands falling into this bucket is Plato’s Closet. While not explicitly targeting a high-income demographic, Plato’s Closet appears to increasingly be attracting this shopper by offering name brands at a discount in a time where consumer wallets continue to be stretched.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, brands experiencing year-over-year declines in high-income shopper penetration face heightened risks in today’s bifurcated retail market. On average and in terms of consumer spend growth for the quarter, the brands ranking the lowest in terms of year-over-year delta in high-income shopper penetration underperformed the top 15 brands by approximately 1,000 basis points.
Many of these brands have remained focused on existing shopper segments without prioritizing high-income shoppers. Carhartt, for instance, remains entrenched in its blue-collar identity, emphasizing rugged workwear over premium positioning. Hello Molly and Francesca’s focus remained on younger, trend-forward shoppers, while Soft Surroundings opted to refocus generationally, leaning in with Gen X women. Others, like SwimOutlet and Windsor Fashion, have broadened their customer bases – SwimOutlet by expanding beyond competitive swimmers, and Windsor by targeting a wide audience. While these brands have either remained authentic to core customers or shifted to a larger consumer strategy, these tactics have not resonated with high-income consumers.
The decline of Tommy John and MeUndies underscores the risks of misalignment with high-income consumer preferences. Both underwear brands saw drops in penetration and sales during the quarter, likely due to a combination of trading-down behavior in loungewear or a shift toward in-person retail experiences that these digitally native labels lack. Conversely, Evereve and Boden Clothing have remained outliers. Despite slight penetration declines, their established foothold with high-income shoppers enabled category-leading growth, proving that even modest pullbacks are manageable when brands prioritize high-income shoppers.
High-Income Shopper Penetration in Restaurants
Within Full- and Limited-Services Restaurants, several brands have experienced a notable customer base shift towards high-income patrons. Brands such as Buca di Beppo, Oberweis Dairy, Maggiano’s Little Italy, Culinary Dropout, and Häagen-Dazs have maintained a strong, core position with high-income consumers. Reliance on this demographic has grown, in part as lower-income customers are increasingly opting to trade down to less premium alternatives amid economic pressures.
This trend is evident among brands that emphasize premium ingredients and experiences. For example, Robeks appeals to health-conscious customers seeking higher-quality ingredients, while PJ’s Coffee and Gregory’s Coffee attracts customers who are willing to spend on higher quality beverages. Duck Donuts differentiates itself for the high-income shopper by offering personalized and custom-decorated donuts.
Beyond menu pricing, some brands are deepening their connection with high-income consumers by strategically expanding into affluent neighborhoods. Both Melting Pot and Tatte Bakery have prioritized opening new locations in these areas to directly reach their high-income target audience. Other brands, including Great Harvest Bread, &pizza, and Bar Louie, are investing in business growth through franchising, menu innovation, unique marketing campaigns, and new loyalty programs. Donatos Pizza, in particular, has made significant investments in its loyalty program to drive higher conversion rates, suggesting that such initiatives may even resonate with high-income consumers as they become more selective with their discretionary spending.
High-Income Shopper Penetration in Sporting Goods, Hobby, Toy, and Game
Finally, the Sporting Goods, Hobby, Toy, and Game industry rounds out the list of segments experiencing a meaningful change in exposure towards high-income shoppers during Q1. While consumer spend at retailers like Cabela’s, MidwayUSA, and Optics Planet was down during the quarter, high-income shopper spend offered reprieve as these outdoor gear brands aligned merchandising strategies towards premium brands with high-quality, aspirational products. A number of sporting goods brands targeted towards athletic performance also grew exposure with high-income shoppers, including Soccer.com, with its assortment of high-quality products from top brands, TeamSnap, targeting youth sports programs more broadly, PGA Tour Superstore, with its expanding omni-channel shopping experience empowered by its partnership with Locally, and iFit, which positions itself as a premium add-on subscription to high-quality fitness equipment. Relatedly, subscriptions with Book of the Month, which have generally targeted high-income readers, also grew exposure with high-income shoppers.
Other brands in this space also saw a rise in high-income shopper penetration during the quarter through their unique product offerings. For example, The Paper Store’s high-income shopper penetration grew, as these shoppers were attracted by premium items, such as designer stationery and unique gifts. KiwiCo and American Girl are positioned well with high-income shoppers as they target families with disposable income with their premium children’s products. Comparatively, Dufry’s duty-free luxury goods may have grown more attractive to high-income shoppers looking to save on their favorite brands due to tax exemptions.
Jesse Waldvogel is the Director of Insights for the CEIC. Follow him on LinkedIn.
One thought on “ Waging a Winning Strategy: The Brands Pivoting to High-income Consumers Amid Economics Headwinds”
Comments are closed.