E-commerce and luxury: Tips to make your brand successful online

Over the years, the luxury sector has changed. While it used to attract mainly high-end customers, it is now becoming more and more accessible. More and more young people are buying high-end products and appreciate the service of these luxury brands.

On the other hand, the luxury sector relies heavily on foreign customers, particularly from the Middle East and China, whose consumption habits are very different from those of Spaniards and who prefer e-commerce.

There are many reasons for a luxury brand to go online: e-commerce is a favourite channel for young buyers and very practical for enhancing your reputation internationally.

how can you create a sense of exclusivity in a luxury brand’s e-commerce?

1. Maintain a unique communication and brand design
2. Create a different and unique customer experience through a luxury online shop
3. Try target-oriented online events
4. Invest in influencer marketing
5. Take care of the delivery of your e-commerce luxury products
6. Packaging: a factor in customer satisfaction

1. Maintain unique communication and brand design

The key to a luxury e-commerce strategy is to recreate a premium image on your website. This requires web design and communication in line with the image that the brand wants to have in the physical shop or in traditional advertising.

Here are some tips on how to achieve this.

• Create a website in line with your brand image but adapt it if necessary. Big brands are used to communicating through traditional media, some of whose communication codes differ from those of the web. For example, your basic typography may be less legible on a website than in print.
• Create a specific style guide for other web communication channels: video, social media (each social network has specific requirements), blog…
• Optimise the purchase flow in your e-commerce. When we mean bringing luxury and e-commerce together, we mean creating a true online shopping experience. Why not, in case of stock shortage, indicate an alternative instead of leaving the visitor wanting to buy?

• Reuse the universe of traditional advertising (TV, print, etc.) to create web advertising. Your web marketing strategy can be inspired by your traditional campaigns! For example, consider creating videos to promote on social networks (organically and through paid advertising) to spread your luxury brand image online.

2. Create a different and unique customer experience through a luxury online shop

At the heart of the success of luxury brands is a key element: exclusivity, a different shopping experience. The targets of the luxury e-commerce industry are not just looking to make a purchase: they want to experience a timeless, different and personalised moment.

Therefore, you must create a luxury e-commerce experience that is consistent with your outlets. Consider: Be responsive on the web:

• Be responsive on the web. Make your sales advisors available to your e-commerce customers, via chat or social media. Why not offer video call meeting spaces to help customers with their purchasing decisions?
• Put innovation at the heart of luxury e-commerce. For example, consider offering personalised products or virtual products. For example, Gucci launched a Snapchat campaign promoting its shoes, using Try-On technology. This allows your customer, thanks to a Snapchat filter, to try on models virtually.

Strengthen your brand image in a traditional way and at the same time reach as many people as possible.

3. Try target-oriented online events

It is undeniable: traditional luxury marketing cannot do without events, in particular to develop brand awareness in the press.

what if they switched to digital events? Consider, for example, launching:

• Online events, such as physical “private sales” events. For example, the luxury brand Bulgari offers a specific app dedicated to one of its high jewellery collections, where you can see extremely luxurious models presented virtually, with a representation as close as possible to reality. Until now, the presentation of such a collection was organised physically, in the presence of the brand’s best clients and journalists.
• Social selling (live sales): some luxury brands are embarking on this process, which consists of live streaming the private sale of products. This practice is highly appreciated by the Chinese: in China, in 2019, social selling exploded and the phenomenon is only accelerating. It is estimated that just over 60,000 “Live Sales” brought together 400 million users on Taobao.

4. Invest in influencer marketing

You can’t miss the digital marketing trend: influencer marketing. For a brand, it’s about gaining visibility through influencers specialised in their sector who promote products to their communities in a more or less direct way.

This method is proving to be the best for the luxury sector and allows you to create a strong link with your target audience through already well-formed communities, while easily leading them to your website.

To implement such a strategy, you will need to:

• Contact the right influencers – these are the ones whose communities already have a large part of your target audience. Don’t use too many influencers, remember to maintain the exclusive feel of the luxury sector.
• Co-create with them the promotional content they will present: you can think about launching content campaigns with the influencer as the protagonist, or even create a specific collection or product with the influencer.
• Make promotional benefits available to the new target audience. The notion of exclusivity, of belonging to a community, also implies the implementation of promotional codes or exclusive prizes.
• Create nice packaging to send to influencers, so they can create unboxing content. The last part of this article will help you on this topic.

5. Take care of the delivery of your e-commerce luxury goods

E-commerce users now expect ever faster and more innovative deliveries, and luxury consumers are no exception to this rule… they don’t even expect luxury specificities to be taken into account in e-commerce.

So make sure you:

• Give your customers the opportunity to pick up their order via different delivery methods. If home delivery is a classic, Click&Collect to pick up directly in the physical shop allows them to recreate a strong link with the physical point of sale.
• Choose a delivery company that offers specific insurance for luxury goods, see our article on this subject: Packing fragile, bulky and sensitive shipments.
• Protect your parcels against fraud and theft by setting up additional security– consider sealing your packaging with anti-theft tape or personalise your tape so you know your parcel hasn’t been opened.

6. Packaging: a factor in customer satisfaction

In luxury e-commerce, as in all other sectors, packaging is the first physical contact you make with your customers, and is therefore key to your brand image and customer satisfaction.

So take the time to:

• Customise your packaging with respect to your brand image, for example, convey your CSR values by customising EcoResponsible packaging or add filler shavings in your brand colours.
• Thinkabout the return of your orders– you can opt for return packaging, which has two self-adhesive strips (one for shipping the product and the other for returning it, if necessary).
• Think about how your packages are opened. The presentation of your orders is ideal for them to share their experiences online, get them unboxed with a pristine presentation and you will get more traffic to your website. Whether you sell luxury goods, high-end cosmetics or even spirits, beautiful packaging is essential for your online communication.

From retail to e-commerce, luxury still has a bright future ahead of it, provided you know how to adapt to consumer trends at the right time and turn them into differentiating elements of your strategy!