Luxury brands struggle to attract Millennials

Oligarchs with lavish spending habits in oil-rich countries such as Russia and China have seen growth slowing in their countries. It is unclear that Millennials, with their fickle and prudent spending styles, will take up the slack.

But Burberry has taken aim at those Millennials with a digital strategy cited as an example for the industry.

And LVMH, the France-based multinational luxury goods colossus, reached into the Silicon Valley talent pool last year and recruited Apple executive Ian Rogers.

Luxury brands including Burberry, Vuitton and Tiffany have taken to relying heavily on social networks such as Snapchat that are popular with young people.

Having a presence online and in social media has become a necessity for brands.

It promises to become even more important as people use smartphones while making buying decisions on the move. Internet titans are pitching instant shopping opportunities based on time, location, interests and more.

Still, brands such as Tiffany face a problem: some young people see them as "old-world luxury" items that don't jibe with their internet age values and lifestyles, according to Neil Saunders of Conlumino retail research company.

Being on social networks has become a "must" in the marketing equation, but it is not enough, contended Quinlan.

"The bottom line is having something relevant that fits into their lifestyle," Quinlan says of luxury brands that court Millennials. "I don't think they've done enough to curate their brands."

The fading lure of luxury items among Millennials is "not necessarily an income problem," she contends.

Data collected by Mastercard describes consumers who choose to enhance their lives with spending on trips, dinners, outings and other experiences instead of on "stuff".

"They might buy one piece; if it's very special, it's very valuable, has a memory of a trip somewhere," Quinlan says.

Yet, Pope saw the luxury goods market as "absolutely sound," so long as brands recognize the shifts under way and offer "value enhancing" products.

Thus, companies could transform their shops into places where people can socialize and linger as they might in a coffee shop, or connect with increasingly popular historical, ethical or sustainability trends.