2. Dealers

Sales in the dealer sector continued to show mixed results in 2024, with aggregate values declining by 6% to $34.1 billion. Reflecting the wider market trend, dealers at the highest end reported some of the largest declines in value, as transactions continued at a level pace but with most activity concentrated at relatively lower price levels.

The smallest dealers with turnover of less than $250,000 reported the largest increase in sales (17%), their second year of growth and a market turnaround for this segment which had seen the weakest recovery in 2021 and 2022. Dealers with turnover of between $1 million and $5 million were also up by 10%, however, the higher turnover segments reported declines (with the $5 million to $10 million segment down by 3%, and the $10 million-plus segment down by 9%), the second year of slowing values for each.

The concentration of the largest share of declining sales at the higher end of the market negatively affected overall values, with the majority (64%) of dealers with turnover of greater than $10 million reporting lower sales than the previous year, versus only 23% in the more densely populated lowest end of less than $250,000. Looking at the broader five-year picture, 48% of dealers reported higher sales in 2024 than they had in 2019, 21% had stable sales, and 31% had lower values, indicating continued uneven recovery across the sector.

Reversing recent trends, sales for dealers in some of the older sectors of the fine art market performed better than Contemporary art (artists born after 1945), with dealers noting that higher prices were concentrated on the most established artists, while newer Contemporary artists were selling well at lower price points. Dealers operating exclusively in Contemporary art experienced an 11% drop in sales in 2024, versus stable or increasing sales for those in the Post-War, Modern, and Old Master sectors. Specialist dealers in some non-fine art sectors also experienced a challenging year, with antiques dealers seeing a reduction in sales of 11%.

Dealers’ sales became more concentrated around top artists, with 56% of their annual turnover coming from their top three artists, up by 3% year-on-year, and one-third from their single highest-selling artist (stable on 2023). While in previous years the top-heavy distribution of sales was more pronounced for businesses in the primary market, in 2024, the margin narrowed, with the largest increases in the concentration of sales in the secondary market, where the top three artists had substantially larger shares than in 2023 (up by 6%, to 53%). Sales in the primary market became more diversified, with the share accounted for by the single highest-selling artist at 34% in 2024, down by 2% year-on-year, and by 9% since 2019.

The representation of female artists among dealers continued to slowly increase, rising by 1% in 2024 to 41%. Primary market galleries showed the strongest representation at 46% (from 42% in 2022), and their share of sales from female artists increased by 3% year-on-year to 42%, continuing substantial growth since 2018. While still a minority, the results indicate that a small number of successful female artists are becoming more important for the aggregate turnover of galleries.

With slowing sales and continued inflation in costs, many businesses struggled to maintain their profitability in 2024, with more businesses less profitable (43%) than more profitable (32%) compared to 2023. The remaining 25% maintained similar levels (down from 31% in 2023), with a widening gap between profitable and unprofitable businesses. Rising costs continued to squeeze profits, with operating costs up by 10% on average in the sector, including payroll, rent or mortgage payments, IT, and other expenses.

Some dealers were successful in reaching new buyers, with 44% of the buyers they sold works to being new to their business in 2024. The share of sales to new buyers also increased to 38%, up by 5% from 2023. The share of new buyers was highest for the smallest dealers (50%) and to the extent that some of these may be new to the art market and starting off at lower price points highlights the importance of smaller galleries in expanding the market to a wider audience. After broadening their base of buyers significantly over 2023, dealers with the highest turnovers in excess of $10 million pursued a more focused strategy in 2024, selling the highest-value works to a smaller group of collectors as the market at the high end became more challenging. However, even in this segment, dealers reported that 40% of their buyers were new to their business in 2024.

Art fair sales increased slightly to 31% of total dealer sales, up by 2% from 2023 but still below 2022 (35%) and pre-pandemic levels (42% in 2019). This increase was driven by sales at overseas fairs (up by 2%, to 20%), while local fair sales remained stable at 11%. Dealers with turnover of over $10 million reported the highest share of fair sales at 34%, up by 4% year-on-year. The share was stable or dropped for dealers in the smaller segments, with the biggest fall for those turning over less than $250,000, from 26% to 23%.

Online sales accounted for 22% of total dealer sales in 2024, down by 1% from 2023 but still significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels (13% in 2019). The main growth area in online sales has been through dealers’ own websites and online channels, which have more than doubled in share since 2019, reflecting substantial investments in upgrading internal platforms. The share of online sales to new buyers increased to 46%, from 35% in 2023.

Dealers cited their top challenge during 2024 as the prevailing context of political and economic volatility and the effect this had on demand, also the highest ranked in 2023. The second-highest-ranked challenge, on par again with 2023, was maintaining relationships with their existing collectors, which made up the majority of their buyers by number (55% of the total) and sales (62% by value). Managing general costs and overheads such as rent and salaries was in the top five concerns, but the costs to travel and participate in art fairs was ranked above this at three overall, as dealers increasingly struggled with how to balance these expenses against the much-needed sales injection they provide.