Why Shopping for Luxury Goods Online is Better than Ever!
When you think of shopping for luxury goods, you’re probably thinking of beautiful storefronts with decadent window displays, rich interiors and courteous salespeople dressed even more elegantly than the products they sell, but that has all changed since the rise of online shopping. With the wide success of e-commerce and particularly luxury online ventures, consumers are buying luxury products online, at both discounted and undiscounted rates [1]. Companies may see the luxury online shopper as one who values the same product in store, but prefers the speed and convenience of online shopping [2]. These are key attributes that push more clients to shop online versus in store. At Lux Second Chance, we dive deeper into what makes online luxury shopping a more popular choice year after year.
Shopping for luxury goods isn’t just about buying a high end product. It’s about the experience that comes along with it, whether that be instore or online. Researchers and shoppers alike have discovered that online luxury shopping can offer the same, if not more, to the shopping experience as their offline counterparts. With attractive benefits such as incredible convenience, home deliveries, and the ability to compare your find before making the purchase, arguably online shopping can offer a more comprehensive and comfortable experience. Here is our list of how online shopping has enhanced the luxury shopping experience since the influx in popularity of online luxury retailers.
We are all well aware of how easy and convenient online shopping is, but particularly for the luxury industry, it offers accessibility to clients all over the world: wherever, whenever! Not every town has a Mink Mile, Rodeo Drive, Chanel flagship store, or Holt Renfrew. Now luxury shoppers don’t need to make a trip into the big city to do their shopping. Available 24/7, 365 days a year, online stores are ready to serve you whenever fits your busy schedule. Don’t have time to pick up your purchases? Home-delivery makes this simple and convenient! You don’t even need to get out of your pajamas!
Even if we don’t admit it, we are all savvy shoppers looking for the best value and we do this by comparing our finds to other great finds on the internet! Comparing products and offers in a retail setting could take hours (or even days!) and countless trips to different stores. Online shopping changes that by allowing shoppers to navigate other online retailers to make sure they are confident with their prospective purchases before they buy, all from the comfort of your home!
To add to our previous point, window shopping (or screen shopping?) has never been easier! Admit it, we’ve all gotten bored at work, at home, at the gym, and we find ourselves scrolling aimlessly through pages of beautiful products. With new arrivals coming in every week, Lux Second Chance can provide you with hours of “screen shopping” with our thousands of luxury items to satisfy any lapse of boredom whenever you need it!
Find something for everyone and anyone online! Regardless of your budget, what you consider luxury, or who you are shopping for, you can find almost anything at a range of price points available to you at your fingertips [3]. The perk of shopping online is that whatever you are looking for at whatever the price, these amazing finds are also easy to find since online retailers provide simple links or specific collections designed to fit a variety of needs for each shopper. Looking for a steal? Or looking for something brand new with tags at a great rate? We suggest our Under $500 collection or New With Tags collection!
We’ve all been there: you’re shopping at a posh retailer and you can feel the eyes of the salesperson on you, eager to make a sale to boost their commission. You may feel pressured into making a purchase that you’re just not quite sure about, or worse, you feel like the salesperson is already judging whether or not you can “afford” the purchase or just wasting their time. This issue is completely obsolete in the age of digital shopping. There’s no one hovering around you and you don’t feel obligated to buy if you don’t want to! This takes the pressure off of the shopper and actually increases the satisfaction of the shopping experience altogether!
Those “traditional” shoppers who appreciate the level of attentiveness a salesperson offers in a physical store setting may be hesitant about shopping online because they believe the expected level of customer service just isn’t there. Well, they couldn’t be more wrong! Many online retailers offer accessible tools to contact a sales representative online during their shopping experience.
Have questions? Need more information about a product? We at Lux Second Chance are dedicated to providing online support to all our customers through our live online messaging system that allows us to provide answers and solutions to all your shopping inquiries. Want more general information before you buy? Check out our FAQ page to know more about the standards and practices of our exceptional customer service!
Think we have it good now? Research suggests online luxury sales are going to triple as a proportion of the total global luxury market sales by 2025, reaching USD $91 billion. As it is already, at least 40% of all luxury purchases are in some way influenced by consumers’ online experience [4]. Although luxury brands face the problem of needing to identify new ways to engage with prospective clients online, this will only result in finding more opportunities for innovative and creative online shopping experiences! To add to that, researchers have noted that online sales have so far not been able to drive the same level of upsell opportunities as their offline counterparts [4]. This means we can expect an added level of hidden persuasion to add to our purchases or incentive to come back for more! Is that a pro or a con? Well, I guess that’s up to the shopper to decide!
Sources:
1. Linda Dauriz, Nathalie Remy, and Nicola Sandri, “Luxury shopping in the digital age,” McKinsey & Company, May 2014. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/luxury-shopping-in-the-digital-age
2. NJ Goldston, “What You Need to Know About Luxury Consumer Trends for 2018,” Forbes, December 29, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/njgoldston/2017/12/29/what-you-need-to-know-about-luxury-consumer-trends-for-2018/#51ced21021eb
3. “Why Shop Luxury Online?”, The Savvy Shopper (blog), ebates.ca, accessed August 19, 2018. https://www.ebates.ca/blog/shop-luxury-online/
4. Samantha Woodworth, “The Future of Online Luxury Retail,” Luxe Digital, February 7, 2018. https://luxe.digital/digital-luxury-reports/future-online-luxury-retail/
