U.S. luxury spending weakened for a third straight month in September, adding another warning sign for an industry that had been counting on affluent American consumers to offset sluggish demand overseas, is slowing down ahead of the midterm elections.
Credit card purchases at luxury brands fell 6% from a year earlier in September, according to Citi data seen by Reuters, accelerating from 4% declines in both July and August. The pullback comes at a difficult moment for luxury companies as brands have already been grappling with prolonged weakness in China and the economic consequences of the Iran war.
