Over the years, I’ve seen many companies miss the mark when trying to target wealthier consumers. They usually try to tweak their existing plans without realizing they need to create a robust luxury ecommerce strategy that’s unique and fit for purpose.
Far too many brands rely on being “affordable luxury”, so much so that this phrase has lost its value! Much like brands who use heavy discounting to drive sales, even though no one has ever paid full price!
The luxury market is different from your average person on the street when considering their motivation, what they’ll spend, and where the purchase will take place.
More luxury consumers than ever are happy to research and purchase items online. And while many of the big luxury houses still favor in-boutique experiences, the future is a joined-up experience of digital and physical commerce.
In this article, we’ll explore the essential elements of a well-defined luxury ecommerce strategy, showing you how to target more discerning customers, drive sustainable growth, and cultivate brand loyalty in the digital age.
Understanding Luxury Consumers
Luxury is and has always been about exclusivity, craftsmanship, heritage, and experience. There are several groups of consumers to consider: rich (old and new money), high earners (aka HENRY), and those who are status-conscious.
The common threads that join them together are the search for the best product that is crafted from the finest materials and wrapped in a memorable experience.
Owning a Bentley, for example, is a way to express your uniqueness and your desire to be surrounded by the best. And while any old Ford might get you to the same location in a similar time, to most luxury consumers, nothing compares to the Bentley!
Rolex is another great example. People still wear watches as a way to augment their status and not necessarily for it’s ability to keep time. It’s a well-known fact that Rolex watches lose a second every few months! And yet they have a multi-year waiting list!
Younger consumers of luxury goods prefer to start their journey online and complete as much as possible in a self-serve manner. Once the research is done, they’ll happily move to a physical location and human interaction.
For example, I’d rather book lunch at my favorite 5-star hotel at 2 am online, rather than need to call the front desk during office hours. If I wanted to book a room, I’d call the team to discuss the options as I’d value their advice.
The online experience must be seamless and continual across different devices. Only having a desktop website is no longer good enough. You need a responsive website and possibly an APP that reinforces your brand.
How To Create A Robust Luxury Ecommerce Strategy
Let’s dive into the elements we need to create a solid luxury ecommerce strategy from the ground up.
Why expand to an omnichannel experience?
Strategy starts by analyzing why you might do something. If your answer is “every other brand is doing it” you need to reconsider your reason why. However, if you’re adding an ecommerce element to attract a younger demographic or to allow you to expand into additional markets then you have a good reason.
Consider how you’ll integrate online and offline channels into a seamless experience while allowing room for personalized advice and customer service.
Will you allow customers to only buy online using the website or can they “click and collect” or “reserve online, pick up in store”? Can you offer virtual and in-store constructions?
It’s best to start simple and add options and features as you feel comfortable and can forecast demand for such things.
Many brands fail at creating a seamless omnichannel experience as they don’t have a process to roll out consistent brand messaging across all touchpoints.
Building a secure yet flexible infrastructure
This is the boring bit that’s essential to keeping everything running! You need to either redesign your website so it is built using an ecommerce platform or add this element to your existing website.
Many brands will rebuild their website using Shopify as it’s flexible, robust, and highly configurable. Shopify makes it easy to create a mobile-friendly website you can easily add different shipping options and payment methods.
You’ll need an inventory management system to ensure you don’t display out-of-stock items online and a CRM to track customer behavior.
In the store, you’ll need to assign a team member to pick and pack orders and provide them with the space and materials to ensure they do a good job. They will also be responsible for buying postage and getting items to the courier.
Delivering Exceptional Customer Service
The more decerning the customer, the greater the expectation of service. Delivering exceptional customer service online is tough as non-verbal communication is largely removed, making it hard to fully assess the situation.
One way to overcome these issues is to over multiple communication channels with good coverage. You probably don’t need to offer 24/7 availability but should allow customers to contact you from 8 am to 6 pm on Monday to Friday by chat, email, and phone.
Empower your customer service team to be proactive, personal, and solution-focused. Also, make returns and exchanges hassle-free.
Present A Highly Curated Product Presentation
It’s both an art and science to curate products for maximum impact. Brands like Ralph Lauren spend hours curating what products make it on their website and even longer on how they look, both as collections of products in a lifestyle image and individual items.
You’ll want to invest in high-quality photography and videography that tells the story of each piece and the different collections. Use detailed product descriptions to educate customers on your brand’s craftsmanship and heritage.
It’s worth including 360-degree images and zoom functionality. If you can, use AI technology to create a virtual try-on experience allowing the customer to fully experience products without visiting a boutique.
Exclusivity and Personalization
Decerning customers usually choose unique products even if that means a slightly customized version of a standard, readily available product.
Selling one-off or customizable items online can be tricky without the right messaging and level of customer service. Spend time considering how you’ll present these items to ensure the right customers purchase them.
Another element to consider is how to offer exclusive online experiences and early access to collections to your VIP customers. They might be time-poor but will engage if given a compelling enough reason.
How To Measure If Your Luxury Ecommerce Strategy Is Working
If you don’t have a way to measure and analyze if your luxury ecommerce strategy is working, you’ll waste your resources. There are a few ways to track success and better optimize your processes and systems using the data you collect.
I’d recommend starting with some basic Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track average order value (AOV), conversion rate, and time to resolution for customer support inquiries.
From there, you can dive into channel-specific KPIs and track metrics for SEO, Paid media, PR, and more. Again, I’d recommend keeping things simple and picking 2 or 3 KPIs per channel that help fill in the picture and allow you to make better decisions.
As your online offering evolves and you gather more data, customizing your plan to the market becomes easier and the results get better. Collecting data is important and using it to drive improvements is critical to your success.
Building Long-term Online Success
Targeting more decerning clients using an online webstore requires having a well-thought-out luxury ecommerce strategy. You can’t leave it to chance!
Building long-term success requires having a strong vision, knowing your marketing, creating a plan, and tracking KPIs. Over time, you’ll get better at planning, researching, and tracking what makes a difference, allowing you to get better results in less time.
The best starting point when building a luxury ecommerce strategy is to nail down your vision for the business.
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