Research with context
What buying intentions can and cannot tell us
Selected high-net-worth collectors; 3,100 respondents across ten markets. Not a population-wide estimate.
Period: Plans stated in 2025 for the next twelve months · Source reviewed: September 5, 2026
How to use this research
Buying intentions are a view of preferences, not completed transactions. Use them as background when exploring art categories, while letting your own space and response to the work guide the shortlist. A material decision can matter more than a popularity statistic: a work on paper, a painting on canvas and a sculpture ask different things of their display location.
Editorial application by Physical Art For Crypto; it is not a source finding or a report of our customer outcomes.
What the source reports
- 01
40% planned to buy more art in the next twelve months.
Art Basel & UBS / Arts Economics ↗ · Plans stated in 2025 for the next twelve months
- 02
25% planned to sell works.
Art Basel & UBS / Arts Economics ↗ · Plans stated in 2025 for the next twelve months
- 03
25% planned to donate works.
Art Basel & UBS / Arts Economics ↗ · Plans stated in 2025 for the next twelve months
- 04
37% of prospective buyers wanted sculpture.
Art Basel & UBS / Arts Economics ↗ · Plans stated in 2025 for the next twelve months
- 05
23% of prospective buyers wanted digital art.
Art Basel & UBS / Arts Economics ↗ · Plans stated in 2025 for the next twelve months
- 06
21% of prospective buyers wanted photography.
Art Basel & UBS / Arts Economics ↗ · Plans stated in 2025 for the next twelve months
- 07
37% of prospective buyers planned antique purchases.
Art Basel & UBS / Arts Economics ↗ · Plans stated in 2025 for the next twelve months
- 08
33% of prospective buyers planned decorative-art purchases.
Art Basel & UBS / Arts Economics ↗ · Plans stated in 2025 for the next twelve months
- 09
84% were optimistic about the rest of 2025.
Art Basel & UBS / Arts Economics ↗ · Plans stated in 2025 for the next twelve months
- 10
81% were optimistic about the next twelve months.
Art Basel & UBS / Arts Economics ↗ · Plans stated in 2025 for the next twelve months