courtesy of Candice Lake
Luxury brands have traditionally considered online shopping as a channel reserved for selling low to mid-range goods. E-commerce was indeed perceived as inappropriate for a true luxury brand.
The real high-end collections were thus reserved for the physical retail stores. This approach was motivated by the impression that consumers weren?t ready to spend a large amount of money for a high-end good online. Luxury brands thought that their consumers would always favour the offline experience of a personalised and tactile shopping journey. Online shopping was reserved for mass consumption.
That preconception is now being seriously challenged.
20 percent of luxury sales will take place online by 2025
Industry observers will have noticed that high-end online retailers such as Farfetch and Net-A-Porter have successfully been able to sell luxury goods online at full retail price.
In addition, the importance of digital perception is increasingly influencing how clients make their purchase decisions. McKinsey found recently that at least 40 percent of global luxury sales were indeed influenced by a consumer online experience in one way or another.
Young affluent consumers drive 85% of luxury growth
The growing importance of digital for luxury brands is the combination of the general broader adoption of the Internet, but also a generational shift that is taking place in the typical luxury shopper profile.
Image courtesy of Youssef Sarhan
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