46 Future of Retail
issue 01
Ethical brands such as Stella McCartney are
experiencing strong growth because they are giving the luxury market a refresh, promoting a higher purpose and offering full transparency within supply chains.
TECHNOLOGY AND THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Digital technology can be used to enhance
the luxury shopping experience both on and offline. Victoria Beckham doesn’t have any tills in her
shop, just iPads for staff to make purchases on. Many luxury brands such as Burberry broadcast their recent Fashion Week shows online with the ability to shop directly from the runway. There’s a never-ending stream of new
technology at luxury brands’ fingertips, whether it’s virtual displays in-store that can be used to make a purchase or dynamic email that will show different content based on the time or location of opening. The key will be choosing appropriate ways to reach each type of customer and enhancing their shopping trips rather than jumping on trend bandwagons. Despite not having a physical store
presence, Net-a-Porter manages to deliver a true luxury retail encounter solely online. With editorial content tailored to its customers’ lifestyles, VIP programmes and exclusive offers right through to beautiful packaging upon arrival, the ease of purchase and resulting experience has led to increased loyalty and market growth. Customer experience has always been
of paramount importance to luxury brands, and delivering the ultimate in-store journey must be translated online. The progression of luxury retail marketing heavily focuses on the delivery of a seamless brand experience on and offline. Technological developments have supported the multichannel journey vision: good online stock management, smooth online purchasing and timely delivery communication
are all enhanced with investment in innovation, leading to a memorable encounter for the luxury customer. The next step is to ensure the personalised experience a person receives in a luxury store is threaded through the online buying journey. Personalised online content based on
previous purchases, relevant product recommendations, discreet and exclusive offers through to birthday reminders, free gifts for VIPs and exclusive product access: these are all things that would be offered in store as staff get to know the customer – translating this experience online takes a shopping trip to another level.
CUSTOMER INSIGHT Luxury brands can tailor how they greet and
guide their customers online by combining data and insight to deeply understand them. Not just what they buy and when, but who they are as people, what drives and inspires them, and how they want the brands they buy from to make them feel. Putting the customer at the centre of all
business decisions is the future for successful luxury retail. Brands that take the time to really understand shoppers will be those who prosper. Improving data collection is a key starting
point. Luxury brands must be able to store and manage data both on and offline and match them up. A single customer view across each channel allows segmentation – different types of customers such as high-value, inactive and new can then be marketed to in a bespoke fashion to improve results. Good customer data can then be used
to enhance technology, feeding into email programmes and personalised on-site content. Data can take a retailer so far, but true customer intelligence can only be built by overlaying emotional insight. With changes in the mind-set of those
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