The study collected and analysed social media data for the top 39 European luxury accessories brands by revenue, attributing each label a score from -100 to +100 to reflect how positive the sentiments expressed about them were. Italian jeweller Pomellato took the top spot with 99%, followed by Paris-based Van Cleef & Arpels (96%) in second, and Acqua di Parma and John Lobb which came in joint third with 95%.

These scores were way above those achieved by such industry heavy weights as Bottega Veneta (89%), Prada (88%), Louis Vuitton (82%) and Chanel (73%), while Gucci set a lower limit with a score of 54%, accompanied at the bottom end of the scale by Chloé and Brioni. “Sentiment tells brands and marketers everything about the consumers you hope to reach, what they want from you, what they want from competitors, and how badly they want it,” said Paige Leidig, NetBase’s chief marketing officer in a release. “Many luxury brands have high sentiment on social media, therefore it is vital for CMOs and brand managers to understand how they can differentiate themselves and drive positive consumer passion.” Nonetheless, NetBase also emphasised that these percentages are only a small part of the wider “sentiment analysis” picture, highlighting the case of Coach, which has a relatively high rate of net sentiment compared to competitors like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Chanel, but commands a much smaller share of brand conversation in social channels. Either way, with luxury accessories accounting for 62% of the 87-billion-euro European personal luxury goods market according to the analytics firm, it seems that brands would do well to keep close tabs on just how positive the sentiments being voiced about them on social media are. The full “2018 Europe Luxury Accessories Social Sentiment Report” can be downloaded on NetBase’s website.