Often at the forefront of the greatest retail revolutions, and particularly exemplary in terms of customer experience, the luxury sector continues to take on greater challenges each year. Some of them also come to shake deep convictions and historical practices for its protagonists, pushing them into entrenchments unimaginable even a few years ago… Among them, we obviously find the galloping digitization of the relationship brand – customer, propelled by the health crisis, and which is now taking the direction – admittedly a little vague – of virtual reality. But we also gladly cite collaborative efforts, which if they are not new, in 2022 cover much more powerful experiential and commitment issues. And finally, it’s impossible for these brands not to invest in responsible and ecological practices, given an environmental context that they no longer want and can ignore.
The metaverse: the shop, but bigger!
Many of our luxury brands are already experimenting with this technology, whose contours are sometimes unknown, often nebulous, but always terribly exciting! And for good reason: once we have collectively appreciated that the metaverse is in no way an innovation designed to oppose a virtual life to a real life, but only to reconcile the two worlds in a daily life already imbued with digital, we will be able to consider the endless source of opportunities it promises retailers. Whether it is a question of maintaining customer relations more precisely outside the point of sale, of offering fun and original personalized experiences, of rewarding and retaining the best ambassadors, or even of course of recruiting as soon as possible the most young among us… The metaverse allows a tremendous extension of a physical point of sale in decline, and which can, unfortunately, be subject to the vagaries of health. As for NFTs, these blockchain-certified digital goods, they offer the incredible opportunity to pre-test products without designing them, drastically reducing the carbon footprint of the brands concerned.
Collaborations: experience, but more fun!
Beyond the business opportunities that they have always generated, collaborations between luxury brands help to nurture the relationship with customers, with greed and optimism! Because collaborating, for these houses often constrained by the rigor of their positioning, very often means temporarily offering themselves the freedom to invest new, less conventional territories of expression and places, and thus to create the surprise of which its customers may sporadically crave. These associations, well thought out and well conducted, therefore amplify the possible experience at the point of sale, as in digital, but not only. While the only common cause that seems to have consensus in our society today is that of the preservation of our environment, collaborations also open the way to the creation of ever more powerful levers of commitment!
The second hand: commitment, but more concrete!
Again and again him! Commitment is now a prerequisite imposed by the majority of luxury customers. 59% of them say they are today influenced by the eco-responsible dimension of their purchases [1] and expect brands to help them consume better. And among the strong trends, the second-hand offer embodies both a coherent materialization for the sector and a tremendous opportunity for growth. Olivier Fournier, president of the illustrious Hermès Foundation, recently summed it up perfectly in these terms: “Luxury is what is durable, what can be repaired, what is transmitted…”. A mantra a priori thought for the second hand isn’t it? Because indeed, in the world of luxury, everything reflects a fierce desire to exist over time: long involvement in creations, sharp design work, quality of materials… If he may have had a tendency to barricade himself from the world real in the past, luxury unquestionably began a small revolution a few years ago, always revealing itself a little more to its customers, through social networks for example, or even by making real commitments in its manufacturing methods. (fur…). Appropriating the second-hand market is, I believe, the logical next step in the history of the sector, both exemplary in terms of eco-responsibility, but also devilishly effective when it comes to customer experience.
[1] Source: BCG
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