The UBS Report states clearly that there are currently only two points of reference where the online art sales and the art market are seeing a spike in optimism: Online Auctions and the new generation of Millennial — Gen Z Buyers.
As per the 20 and 30-something year olds’, 92 % of them buy art online, 9 % spend over 1 mln and 36% spend over 50.000 dollars.
“For dealers making online sales in 2019, 57% of those sales were to new buyers, up 5% in share year-on-year” as stated in the Report.
This means that the new buyers may not be necessarily acquainted with the traditional deal-making procedures of the market. The retention of acquired customers is to become the central point of managing the collectors who come through online channels.
The Online sections of the traditional auction houses such as Christie’s online only, was up 26% over the past 3 years, while at Sotheby’s this figure is at 55% over the same time period. Not to mention the second-tier auction houses, where online sales accounted for 20% of total.
UBS recognises that the most frequently cited barrier for the collectors entering the market is the lack of transparent price listings and having to “inquire” for price quotes from dealers which creates unnecessary roadblocks in traction.