Post on 19-Sep-2019
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28 W. 23rd St, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10010
e: contact@usablenet.com
INTRODUCTIONLuxury brands are lagging behind customer expectations in terms of delivering mobile experiences that are complementary to their
brick and mortar counterparts, and that satisfy how today’s luxury consumers wish to interact with them. In a February 1, 2013,
Forrester report entitled “The Luxuryer’s Guide to Agile Commerce,” the three key takeaways are:
❖❖ Luxury consumers desire exceptional
experiences through digital touchpoints.
❖❖ Luxury consumers are in the forefront of
shopping on mobile devices, including tablets.
❖❖ Luxury brands aren’t keeping up with their
customers in the first two trends.
The luxury consumer, used to high-touch concierge
service in opulent stores and showrooms, is
younger, more active, and more tech-savvy than
previous generations. For the most part, luxury
brands have been slower to acknowledge or adapt
to the rapid growth and rabid embrace of mobile
technology among affluent consumers, preferring
to focus on providing the kind of impeccable in-
person experiences that have traditionally been
the best practice for this clientele.
It is imperative for luxury brands to catch up to
their on-the-go customers and invest in providing
integrated multichannel experiences that keep
them within reach at all times and in all places.
Which is not to say that there are not stellar
examples of brands that are effectively
mobilizing to meet luxury consumers where
they are. Digital think-tank L2 found that 57%
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Luxury
finds that the former group is more likely to
use their mobile phone to engage with brands,
research products, and make purchases, as the
table below illustrates.
Behaviors
Luxury shoppers
ordinary shoppers
Have used mobile to interact with a company
59%
45%
Made a purchase on mobile 25% 16%
Researched products on mobile 56% 40%
It is essential for luxury brands to leverage these
differences and close the gap between their
digital offerings and their customers’ lifestyles.
According to the Luxury Institute, 72% of mobile
luxury consumers do not consider there to be an
upper limit on how much they would spend in
a single mobile transaction. Additionally, 46%
of mobile luxury consumers reported that they
expect loyalty programs and 45% want early
access to sales through their mobile devices.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the in-store
experience is no longer important. Rather, it’s that
the seamless integration of in-person and mobile
experiences should be the goal for luxury brands —
regardless of what stage of evolution their mobile
offers are. Research has shown that 65% of digital
luxury shoppers access a retailers website while in-
store, while 69% of shoppers reporting high levels
of satisfaction with the online channel are more
likely to buy from the same brand offline.
Usablenet // Luxury — June 2013 Page 2
of luxury brands currently offer optimized
m-commerce solutions, while only one-third
provide just a desktop experience.
At the same time, L2’s study found that only
10% of luxury brands had tablet-specific sites,
with only 23% utilizing “swipe navigation” to
make for a good user experience. As the luxury
consumer is more likely than regular consumers
to use both a smartphone and a tablet — 26%
of luxury shoppers own a tablet device versus
just 12% of all web users — the lack of mobile
and tablet optimization presents a significant
growth opportunity.
The 2013 ForeSee E-Retail Satisfaction Index
compares the use of mobile devices among
luxury consumers and “ordinary shoppers”, and
url: m.mbusa.com url: m.selfridges.com
Luxury
BesT PRaCTICes Based on our long experience creating multichannel
experiences for clients in a range of sectors,
Usablenet understands the best practices that
luxury brands need to undertake in order to reach
their mobile-active customers. Here are a few:
Design
❖❖ Keep visual design clean — go for refined rather
than opulent. A clear, compelling, and engaging
user interface will place the emphasis on your
offerings and improve customer satisfaction
and loyalty.
❖❖ Streamline and optimize your customer’s
journey in the mobile experience by making
each click count and delivering valuable content
from login to checkout.
Multichannel
❖❖ Seamlessly integrate channels — from store
(through kiosks or tech-equipped salespeople)
to mobile/tablet to desktop.
❖❖ Provide a range of complementary experiences
based on context, e.g., whether logging in from
home or in the store.
❖❖ Increase the level of personalization by
offering quick access to stores while on the
road, or requesting a conversation with a sales
associate within a store.
Enhanced experience
❖❖ Provide useful and relevant content that offers
a differentiated experience.
❖❖ Push mobile-specific offers and promotions
to your customers.
❖❖ Build in the ability for social media interaction;
this enables them to share the experience
with other customers and gain feedback from
your fans.
Usablenet // Luxury — June 2013 Page 3
Ritz-Carlton’s innovative use of QR codes offers guests the
opportunity to scan for bonus content such as signature
cocktail recipes, event calendars, or location-special travel and
historical information. Some of this extra content is triggered
automatically through geo-location technology. In addition,
Ritz-Carlton’s mobile experiences are deeply socially integrated,
including a FourSquare-based World Concierge service.
Usablenet // Luxury — June 2013 Page 4
url: m.mbusa.com
url: m.selfridges.com
With mobile traffic to mbusa.com having grown by 170% over
the last year, Mercedes Benz USA enhanced its mobile site to
allow customers to research its full line of vehicle offerings
with high-resolution scrolling image galleries, videos, and
dynamic user interactions. Users can also use a GPS function
to find dealers, customize their vehicles, and, post-purchase,
access owners’ resources.
Product display pages on the Selfridges mobile site each
have a social flyout, which enables consumers to share the
product via email, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Selfridges also offers a “What’s On” section where users can
find information about in-store events, thereby forging a link
between the mobile experience and the in-store experience.
ClIeNT examPles
Luxury