Prada DTC outperforms luxury, department stores on ticket increase

Access chart in Dash.

Prada’s US DTC average transaction size (ticket) grew YoY in every calendar quarter since January 2023 according to Earnest credit card data. The growth makes it unique across the luxury retail space–Luxury Apparel and Luggage & Bags categories all experienced multiple months of negative ticket growth during the same period as customers largely traded down.

Prada’s ability to increase checkout sizes helped drive sales growth in the first quarter. The Italian luxury brand with its label-heavy clothes seem to be bucking the move towards quiet luxury as well as a broader slowdown in the luxury space. Meanwhile, shoppers at High-End Department Stores, including Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Saks, increased their ticket sizes in 2023 at a much slower rate than at Prada, before ultimately reducing ticket sizes in 1Q24.

Upcoming tax season returns could be a boost to the whole luxury industry. Preliminary data from March suggested some luxury and high-end focused retailers like Nordstrom are experiencing a strong benefit from tax return related spending.