Whether you’re anÌýartist orÌýanÌýaspiring dealer, learning about theÌýart market isÌýanÌýimportant step inÌýbuilding aÌýsuccessful art business that can keep upÌýwith theÌýtimes.
InÌýthis guide, you’ll learn about theÌýglobal art market, how toÌýmaximize your success with online sales, andÌývaluable stats that will help you develop aÌýprofitable business strategy you can put into practice today.
Let’s get started.
Global Art Market inÌýNumbers
- InÌý2022, theÌýworldwide art market amassed close toÌý$68Ìý²ú¾±±ô±ô¾±´Ç²Ô. (Source: )
- InÌý2022, theÌýUSÌýmaintained its position asÌýtheÌýleading market, representing 45% ´Ç´ÚÌýglobal sales byÌývalue. ItÌýexperienced anÌý8%Ìý
year-on-year growth, reaching aÌýrecord-high ´Ç´ÚÌý$30.2Ìý²ú¾±±ô±ô¾±´Ç²Ô. (Source: ) - Global online sales inÌýtheÌýart andÌýantiques market saw aÌýdecline ´Ç´ÚÌýapproximately 17% toÌý$11Ìý²ú¾±±ô±ô¾±´Ç²Ô inÌý2022Ìýcompared toÌýtheÌýpreceding year. (Source: )
- Sales inÌýtheÌýauction house sector, encompassing both public andÌýprivate sales, experienced aÌý2%Ìý
year-on-year decline toÌýreach $30.6Ìý²ú¾±±ô±ô¾±´Ç²Ô. (Source: ) - InÌý2023, women surpassed men inÌýspending, with aÌýmedian ´Ç´ÚÌý$72,500, showing continued growth from 2022. (Source: )
Understanding theÌýGlobal Art Market (And Why Having aÌýWebsite IsÌýImportant)
The global art market isÌýaÌýcomplex system ´Ç´ÚÌýauction houses, galleries, private dealers, andÌýmore. ToÌýunderstand how theÌýsystem works andÌýwhere your art business fits inÌýit, we’ll look atÌýaÌýfew specific sections ´Ç´ÚÌýtheÌýmarket.
Working with private art dealers
Private sales within theÌýart world include everything from art fairs toÌýgallery sales. AsÌýyou start anÌýart business, it’s aÌýgood idea toÌýprioritize sales channels that are popular within theÌýglobal art market. Here are theÌý:
- 42% ´Ç´ÚÌýdealers sell through galleries
- 30% ´Ç´ÚÌýdealers sell art online
The remaining sales take place through aÌýcombination ´Ç´ÚÌýlocal andÌýoverseas art fairs andÌýother channels.
For new dealers orÌýemerging artists, it’s aÌýgood idea toÌýtake advantage ´Ç´ÚÌýtheÌýpopularity ´Ç´ÚÌýonline sales. Selling art through physical gallery settings can beÌýanÌýimportant part ´Ç´ÚÌýworking inÌýtheÌýglobal art market, but starting your art business online isÌýaÌýsmart move since there’s aÌýlower barrier toÌýentry. After all, you can easily build anÌýonline store forÌýfree with ºÚÁÏÃÅ.
InÌýsummary, aspiring artists andÌýdealers alike should prioritize building anÌýonline store before looking forÌý
Understanding art collectors
NoÌýmatter where you sell art, understanding theÌýpeople who buy itÌýwill help you develop aÌýsuccessful business strategy.
InÌý2020, theÌýbiggest art buyers were Millennials. Collectors from that generation had aÌý ´Ç´ÚÌý$378,000Ìý
Why? According toÌýtheÌýglobal data, 62% ´Ç´ÚÌýMillennials prefer online shopping orÌýhybrid (both online andÌýoffline). ByÌýdeveloping anÌýonline sales strategy, you’ll beÌýpositioning yourself toÌýconnect with anÌýengaged demographic.
Other data from theÌý suggests that online art sales are set toÌýgrow inÌýpopularity inÌýtheÌýcoming years.
Connecting with stable market segments
Although theÌýglobal art market isÌý inÌýtheÌýcoming years, recent data shows how theÌý
The process ´Ç´ÚÌýtargeting stable market segments will vary from business toÌýbusiness, but theÌý toÌýtheÌývalue ´Ç´ÚÌýbuilding anÌýonline store.
- Before 2020, online transactions accounted forÌýabout
one-tenth ´Ç´ÚÌýtheÌýglobal art market - Now, online art sales account forÌýalmost aÌýquarter ´Ç´ÚÌýtheÌýentire global art market
Yep. You guessed it: ToÌýtake advantage ´Ç´ÚÌýthis growing online art market, new artists andÌýdealers should focus onÌýbuilding anÌýonline presence.
Understanding Auction Houses andÌýOther Traditional Sales Channels
SoÌýonline sales should beÌýpart ´Ç´ÚÌýyour strategy, but what about traditional sales channels? And what even are traditional sales channels?
Essentially, traditional sales channels within theÌýart world include auction houses andÌýgalleries.
Let’s look atÌýauction houses first.
Selling art through auction houses
InÌý2020, leading auction house Christie’s saw Ìý— going from about $6Ìýbillion inÌý2019ÌýtoÌýjust $4.4Ìýbillion inÌý2020. InÌýcontrast, ³§´Ç³Ù³ó±ð²ú²â’s, another leading auction house, saw anÌýincrease inÌýsales. This data suggests that theÌý
But what does that mean forÌýnew artists andÌýdealers?
Generally, pursuing theÌýglobal art auction market doesn’t appear toÌýbeÌýaÌýgood idea. InÌýfact, acknowledges theÌýdecline ´Ç´ÚÌýglobal auctions, saying, “Local will beÌýtheÌýnew global.”
ÌýLocal will beÌýtheÌýnew global.Ìý³§´Ç³Ù³ó±ð²ú²â’s
For people just entering theÌýart market, this shift means it’s smart toÌýfocus onÌýworking with local auction houses rather than international options.
Selling art through brick-and-mortar galleries
Physical art galleries were impacted byÌýtheÌýpandemic asÌýwell. shows that gallery sales contracted byÌý36% inÌý2020ÌýasÌýnearly all physical art galleries closed their doors.
This shift led toÌý inÌýonline sales, but itÌýalso made theÌýart world turn its attention toÌýlocal markets. According toÌý³§´Ç³Ù³ó±ð²ú²â’s, while international travel restrictions made buyers focus less onÌýforeign galleries, theÌýpandemic also made them atÌýlocal art scenes. This change isÌýexpected toÌýcontinue asÌýpandemic restrictions come toÌýanÌýend.
AsÌýaÌýresult, aspiring artists andÌýdealers should get involved with theÌýartistic communities inÌýtheir hometowns before tackling international galleries.
How theÌýArt Market Combines Digital andÌýPhysical Segments
We’ve learned that theÌýcurrent art market has space forÌýonline stores andÌý
:
- About 50% ´Ç´ÚÌýgalleries are using online viewing rooms toÌýshow what they have
on-site - 67% ´Ç´ÚÌýdealers who typically attend art fairs are using virtual exhibitions more frequently
- 69% ´Ç´ÚÌýdealers andÌýgalleries are expanding their social media activity
While this data might seem toÌýsuggest that physical art galleries are aÌýdying breed, theÌýart world seems toÌýthink otherwise: Data from Art Basel shows that are optimistic about theÌýfuture ´Ç´ÚÌýart galleries. Meanwhile, data indicates that nearly 60% ´Ç´ÚÌýrespondents plan toÌývisit art institutions asÌýfrequently asÌýthey did before theÌýpandemic while about 18% say they’ll visit these institutions more frequently than before theÌýpandemic.
SoÌýwhat does this tell new artists andÌýdealers? IfÌýyou want success inÌýtheÌýart market, you need toÌýcombine online sales andÌýconnect with local art communities.
Starting Your Art Business
It’s anÌýexciting time toÌýjoin theÌýglobal art marketÌý— andÌýbuilding anÌýonline presence isÌýtheÌýbest way toÌýget started.
That’s where ºÚÁÏÃÅ comes in.
With aÌýstraightforward dashboard that lets you control everything from your website’s design toÌýtheÌýtypes ´Ç´ÚÌýcustomers you want toÌýtarget, ºÚÁÏÃÅ can help you connect with local art communities andÌýbuild aÌýprofitable online store.
SoÌýwhat are you waiting for? Join theÌýart market today!
Ìý
- Current Art Market Overview
- What IsÌýanÌýArtist?
- How Much DoÌýArtists Make?
- How toÌýMake Money asÌýanÌýArtist