Online and Offline - Differences for Luxury Apparel Brand Owners

ONLINE AND OFFLINE - DIFFERENCES FOR LUXURY APPAREL BRAND OWNERS
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Online and Offline - Differences for luxury apparel brand owners
Luxury customers are increasingly utilizing the net to dig into and purchase brands and also for connections. Equally, the luxury industry is extensively figuring out ways to effectively exerting the online sphere. The aberrant growth of the luxury industry, whose value is estimated at over 500 billion USD and predicted to grow by an extra 10 percent in 2013, has been occasioned by increasing demands from the south Eastern nations. New mode of luxury consumption and customers embracing e-channels are also fundamental growth factors. It is authoritatively projected that 65 percent ultra-affluent customers buy brands online, further, 68 percent of these ultra-affluent customers take part in social networking sites, half of who use social media to connect with brands. (Scholz 2012)
The customers of luxury goods and services are becoming more active online, and equally becoming more instrumental in the creations as well as recreation of brand of brand meaning, and continuously taking control over brands. Simultaneously, the traditional or conventional marketing strategies for luxury goods are being reassessed. Going by a study carried out by a NYU Stern School of Business, two-thirds of luxury brands have presence in the online and social networking. (Kapferer and Bastein , 2009)
However, very few of these luxury companies have gone a step further top establish open online interactive engagement platforms, where they can bring in the customers as partners in the co-creation process. Most of these companies are still vigorously trying to strengthen exclusivity of their luxury brands and their ambitious vigor in a selective manner, putting up online events only for their VIP customers for instance through runway shows or instituting invitation only communities like Burberry and Mercedes Benz.
With many luxury companies being disinclined to set up online interaction with their customers, and others who may want to participate in such, customers are utilizing engagement platforms like those contrived by Web2 technologies and have gone ahead to establish independent online communities centered on the luxury brands that they own or admire. This has enabled them to conduct many online activities, which when repeated, they become ‘practices`. (Kapferer and Bastein 2009)
Customers purchase luxury brand for a number of reasons whether it`s entertainment, status or reward. Before they embark on such an investment, most of these customers feel compelled to want to see the product up close. If the option of touching the product is not feasible, the customer will want to visualize the product from various angles, and where appropriate, see a demo. (Kapferer and Bastein 2009)One of the ways that luxury customers are embarking on to satisfy this key determinant principle is the use of smart video strategies, which lets the brand to satisfy those needs, and in effect personalize the manner of presentation.
For instance, visual segmentation enables companies to choose from many video background options that gel with the unique personas of the customers. In relation to merchandising, the smart video can have one up sell recommendation for the young executive and yet another for the stay at home mom. Online video has significantly reduced TV advertising, and made it possible for the likes of Barneys New York, Gucci and Bally to share online videos with integrated shopping which allows customers to have view an image all dimensions which subsequently precipitates to a higher percentage of all the sales conversions that happen online. (Okonkwo, 2007)
According to digital darling Burberry, from their experience, digital media is the way to go for the luxury apparel brands. They have, in this regard taken the throne as far as luxury online marketing is concerned and taken it to new levels of customer engagement, enhancing usability and thus competence one element of luxury brands. Though the norm indicate that luxury marketers have been lagging behind the mass marketers in digital marketing spend, luxury agencies have of late intensified the use of digital media. (Scholz, 2012)
Targeting and context are increasingly becoming the most key criteria for luxury brands, with this, luxury marketers are appreciating that to achieve reach they will have to utilize the niche, passion based sites. Digital media is seen as being more effective than offline marketing in driving favorability. The fact is that it appeals greatly to the utter-affluent audiences on the go, who have more money than time to go round looking - this richness relevance and interest that the company packages and invokes is what Uche Okonkwo classified as content in her book ‘Luxury online` And considering that luxury brands by design deals with an audience that is extremely niche, which is also quite privacy-sensitive and almost unreachable, these customers are yearning for an engagement arrangement that mass marketers are struggling to ensure they deliver. (Okonkwo, 2007)
With an intensive push into the digital realm, Burberry has positioned itself as a champion in online marketing. The company`s creative officer Christopher Bailey asserts that Burberry has become as much a media content company as a design company. This is reinforced by the fact that the company launched its AW (Autumn/Winter) collection of 2012 instantaneously in 10 different social platforms.
As a way of engaging more with its online customers Burberry launched its ‘Art of Trench` photo sharing site that allows customers as well as fashion photographers to document how they wear the iconic trench coat from the brand. This is online communication a key facet of the element of commerce, another of the 7 Cs of luxury brands. This exceptional way of using user generated content as well as customer engagement has greatly brought about brand awareness for the company. Further, Burberry started what it called "Tweetwalk" event which saw it partnering with Twitter to post backstage pictures of each look before models hit the catwalk on the runway, meaning that Burberry followers some of who were its customers got a chance to see looks before most people at the particular fashion event. This is making customers feel exclusive by showing them exclusive content, therefore through computing, Burberry has managed to electronically mediate activities, using the appropriate technology.
Another principle that is consistent with Burberry online engagement with consumers is that they design their content in such a way that will guide customers on the purchase path. In a unique way of generating direct sales, Burberry did a live stream of its London fashion week, which allowed its existing customers who were streaming the event from wherever they were in the world to actually place immediate orders on forthcoming collections before they became available to t...