customer journey luxury brands

The Customer Journey of Luxury Brands: Experiencing Exclusivity and Elegance

In our consumer-driven world, luxury brands have become synonymous with exclusivity, elegance, and sophistication. These brands have carefully crafted their customer journey to ensure a seamless and memorable experience for their discerning clientele. The customer journey of luxury brands encompasses various stages, each unique in its own way. From the initial attraction to the final purchase, luxury brands leave no stone unturned in creating a sense of desire and anticipation. In this article, we will delve into the intricacies of the customer journey of luxury brands, exploring the strategies employed by these esteemed companies to captivate and engage their affluent customers.

The Customer Journey of Luxury Brands

The topic of customer journey mapping becomes particularly intriguing when discussing luxury brands due to several distinctive factors associated with the luxury market.

Here are some reasons why customer journey mapping is especially interesting in the context of luxury brands:

Emphasis on Exclusivity and Experience

Luxury brands often focus on providing a unique and exclusive experience for their customers. Customer journey mapping helps to identify touchpoints where this exclusivity can be heightened, ensuring that each interaction aligns with the brand's premium image.

Personalization Opportunities

Customization and personalization are key aspects of luxury consumption. Through customer journey mapping, brands can pinpoint moments where personalized services, tailored communications, or unique offerings can be integrated, enhancing the overall customer experience.

Brand Image and Perception

Luxury brands invest significantly in crafting a distinct and aspirational brand image. Customer journey mapping helps in maintaining and reinforcing this image at every stage of the customer's interaction with the brand, ensuring consistency and alignment with the luxury identity.

Omnichannel Presence

Luxury brands often operate through multiple channels , both online and offline. Mapping the customer journey allows these brands to ensure a seamless and cohesive experience across various touchpoints, whether it's a physical store, online platform, or social media presence.

Building Emotional Connections

Luxury purchases are often driven by emotions and aspirations. Customer journey mapping helps identify opportunities to create emotional connections with customers, fostering a sense of loyalty and satisfaction that goes beyond the product itself.

Post-Purchase Engagement

For luxury brands, the customer journey doesn't end with a purchase; it extends into the post-purchase phase. Mapping the post-purchase journey helps in maintaining engagement, obtaining feedback, and providing ongoing support to customers, contributing to long-term relationships and brand loyalty.

Storytelling and Narrative

Luxury brands often rely on storytelling and narrative to convey the essence of their brand. Customer journey mapping allows brands to weave a consistent narrative throughout the customer's interactions, creating a cohesive and compelling story that enhances the overall brand experience.

High Expectations and Standards

Luxury consumers typically have high expectations and standards. Customer journey mapping helps brands understand and meet these expectations by ensuring that every touchpoint reflects the quality, sophistication, and excellence associated with luxury products and services.

Stages of the customer journey with luxury products and services

The customer journey of luxury brands can be divided into several stages, each contributing to the overall experience and fostering a deep connection between the brand and the customer. Let's explore these stages in detail:

Stage 1: Awareness and Attraction

At this initial stage, luxury brands focus on creating awareness and attracting potential customers. The goal is to capture the attention of individuals who align with the brand's values and aspirations. Through meticulously crafted marketing campaigns, luxury brands showcase their superior craftsmanship, exquisite designs, and unparalleled quality.

This stage sets the foundation for a lasting relationship between the brand and the customer.

Stage 2: Curiosity and Desire

Once customers become aware of a luxury brand, their curiosity is piqued, leading to a desire to explore further. Luxury brands understand the power of exclusivity, scarcity, and limited editions. They leverage these factors to create a sense of urgency and desirability.

Limited edition releases, collaborations with renowned artists or designers, and personalized experiences are some tactics employed during this stage to captivate potential customers.

Stage 3: Engagement and Emotional Connection

Luxury brands excel in creating an emotional connection with their customers. They understand that luxury is not just about owning a product; it's about the experience and the story behind it. Brands engage customers by offering immersive experiences, such as exclusive events, private showings, and personalized consultations. These interactions foster a sense of belonging and exclusivity, strengthening the emotional bond between the brand and the customer.

Stage 4: Evaluation and Consideration

During this stage, customers carefully evaluate the offerings of luxury brands. They compare products, assess quality, and consider the brand's reputation. Luxury brands invest heavily in maintaining their reputation and upholding their heritage. They provide detailed product information, offer exceptional customer service, and often collaborate with influencers and experts to showcase their expertise. By highlighting these attributes, luxury brands instill confidence in potential customers, ensuring they make an informed decision.

Stage 5: Purchase and Delight

The moment of purchase is highly anticipated in the customer journey of luxury brands. It represents the culmination of desire and the fulfillment of aspirations.

Luxury brands go above and beyond to ensure that the purchase experience is seamless, delightful, and unforgettable. From beautifully packaged products to personalized thank-you notes, every detail is carefully considered to enhance the overall experience. This level of attention to detail ensures that customers feel valued and appreciated.

Stage 6: Post-Purchase Engagement and Loyalty

The customer journey does not end with a purchase; rather, it marks the beginning of a long-term relationship. Luxury brands understand the importance of post-purchase engagement in fostering customer loyalty. They continue to engage with their customers through personalized communication, exclusive offers, and events. By nurturing this relationship, luxury brands build a loyal customer base that becomes brand advocates, further enhancing the brand's reputation and attracting new customers.

FAQs about The Customer Journey of Luxury Brands

What sets the customer journey of luxury brands apart from other brands?

Luxury brands place a strong emphasis on creating an aspirational and exclusive experience for their customers. They invest in exquisite craftsmanship, impeccable quality, and personalized services to differentiate themselves in the market.

How do luxury brands create a sense of exclusivity?

Luxury brands create exclusivity through limited edition releases, collaborations with renowned designers or artists, and by offering personalized experiences to their customers. These strategies enhance the perceived value of the brand, making it more desirable.

What role does emotional connection play in the customer journey of luxury brands?

Emotional connection is crucial in the customer journey of luxury brands. By creating meaningful experiences, luxury brands foster a deep sense of connection with their customers, making them feel valued and understood.

How do luxury brands maintain their reputation and heritage?

Luxury brands maintain their reputation and heritage by upholding strict quality standards, investing in craftsmanship, and consistently delivering exceptional products and services. They often collaborate with experts and influencers to showcase their expertise and reinforce their reputation.

Why is post-purchase engagement important for luxury brands?

Post-purchase engagement allows luxury brands to nurture the relationship with their customers, ensuring their satisfaction and loyalty. By providing personalized communication, exclusive offers, and events, luxury brands create a sense of belonging and further strengthen the customer-brand bond.

What impact does customer loyalty have on luxury brands?

Customer loyalty is paramount for luxury brands as it not only ensures repeat purchases but also leads to positive word-of-mouth recommendations. Loyal customers become brand advocates, influencing others to choose the brand and contributing to its growth.

The customer journey of luxury brands is a meticulously crafted pathway that aims to captivate, engage, and delight affluent individuals.

The unique characteristics of luxury brands, such as exclusivity, personalization, and a strong emphasis on brand image, make customer journey mapping a crucial tool for optimizing the customer experience in a way that aligns with the values and expectations of luxury consumers.

From the initial stages of awareness and attraction to the post-purchase engagement and loyalty, luxury brands leave no stone unturned in creating a truly exceptional experience. By understanding their customers' desires, fostering emotional connections, and maintaining impeccable standards, luxury brands continue to set themselves apart in the world of exclusivity and elegance.

And now, what's next?

Create your own customer journey map for your own luxury brands with Smaply – it's free, forever.

Katharina Rainer

Katharina is a marketer with a background in business and psychology. She loves both logical as well as empathic thinking and always strives to align the goals of organizations and their customers. Besides SaaS marketing, her heart also beats for social engagement, for which reason she supports several NGOs with their communication matters.

Related articles

Journey Mapping

Employee experience management: creating positive workspaces from acquisition to retention

Customer journey mapping in banking: what it is and how to get started

Beyond words: How to present a customer journey map that gets you buy-in

CX innovation tips and insights, right into your inbox!

Get our most empowering knowledge alongside the tool! Inspiring customer experience case studies, practitioner insights, tutorials, and much more.

I confirm that my email address is being processed by  Webflow Inc. and could thus be stored on servers outside of my home country. I understand the potential consequences and I am able to make an informed decision when I actively send in my data.

We are a European software company, located in the mountains of Austria.

Smaply is fully compliant with the GDPR and German DSGVO.

2024 — Smaply by More than Metrics

Explore our latest thought leadership, ideas, and insights on the issues that are shaping the future of business and society.

• Reshape our future with generative AI
• Leading sustainability
• The future of technology
• Marketing for customer experience
• Our research library
• Expert perspectives

Choose a partner with intimate knowledge of your industry and first-hand experience of defining its future.

• Aerospace and defense
• Banking and capital markets
• Consumer products
• Energy and utilities
• Hospitality and travel
• Life sciences
• Manufacturing
• Media and entertainment
• Public sector

Discover our portfolio – constantly evolving to keep pace with the ever-changing needs of our clients.

• Customer first
• Cybersecurity
• Data and artificial intelligence
• Enterprise management
• Intelligent industry
• Sustainability

Become part of a diverse collective of free-thinkers, entrepreneurs and experts – and help us to make a difference.

• Why join Capgemini
• Life at Capgemini
• Meet our people
• Back Career paths
• Students and graduates
• Experienced professionals
• Our professions
• Careers at Capgemini Engineering
• Careers at Capgemini Invent
• Back Join us
• Recruitment process
• Interview tips

See our latest news, and stories from across the business, and explore our archives.

• Press releases
• Analyst recognition
• Client stories
• Inside stories
• Social media

We are a global leader in partnering with companies to transform and manage their business by harnessing the power of technology.

• Back Who we are
• The way we work
• Our innovation ecosystem
• Values and Ethics
• Nobel International Partner
• Back Management and governance
• Board of Directors
• Executive committee
• Responsible business
• Environment, Social & Governance
• Back Corporate Social Responsibility
• CSR partnerships
• Digital inclusion
• Diversity and inclusion
• Environmental sustainability
• Back Transforming sports
• The America’s Cup
• Peugeot Sport
• World Rugby
• Technology partners
• Asia Pacific
• Europe & Middle East

Our number one ranked think-tank

Explore our brands

Explore our technology partners

Explore careers with our brands

Generative AI

Management team

Luxury: The new assets of the customer experience

5 ways to redefine your omnichannel shopping experience

For years, in-store has been the only way to showcase a high-end brand experience. When a designer piece was not available, few sales advisors would suggest buying it online. Then the pandemic arrived. As a result of Covid-19 restrictions, some stores were unable to conduct business for months at a time. Online sales and click & collect were quickly adopted by consumers for everyday essentials, pushing many retailers to expand their horizons. Meanwhile, the sales staff of some luxury houses decided to pick up the phone and call their beloved customers to present new collections, offer video demonstrations, and even finalize the order via the website, thanks to assisted navigation or  an “order on behalf” feature.

Today, this digital omnichannel experience tends to be the norm. Sales associates use tablets to recommend the right product to the right person (based on previous purchases), find the product in other colors or sizes, show videos, and finalize the transaction (endless aisle approach).

So what have luxury brands learned in managing the pandemic? Digital interfaces do not compete with the store. In fact, they push its limits. That’s why the omnichannel culture is currently making a remarkable breakthrough in the luxury sector. In fact, these brands could even become leaders in this new shopping experience. However, for this to happen, several conditions have to be met.

Merge P&L

The reunification of profit and loss accounts (P&L) is the first step to unlocking the potential of omnichannel.

The post pandemic period has seen customers back in store but with new expectations. For example, in-store pick up is the new must-have; starting a wishlist online, only to end up in store is an expected service. This new consumer agility removes previous barriers and therefore must be matched by a robust and unified view of the customer journey. At the same time, in-store sales associates must be rewarded for online sales.

Merging P&L is therefore the first step towards uniting these channels from a financial perspective. In addition, brands may also need to redefine the role of the in-store advisor and re-invent the entire sales process. Tracking actions on social platforms, such as WhatsApp, to engage in direct conversations with customers is a way to understand and prove the efficiency of a smooth, frictionless experience.

Harmonize orders and inventory

In a business model dominated by the concept of scarcity, a unified view of dispersed inventories is essential to the customer experience. Satisfying a customer who is looking for a certain dress, in a specific size and color, requires knowing in real-time if that product is available. But luxury brands are held to an even higher service and must go even further to satisfy the most complex delivery scenarios, such as click & collect, ship from store, dropshipping, and more. In addition, customers expect to be updated on the order status.

This complex orchestration requires the power of an Order Management System (OMS), which can not only manage these issues but also respond to environmental issues, like shortening shipping routes to reduce the carbon footprint of a product and proactively managing delays.  

This level of service is especially important to younger consumers – which is a critical market for luxury brands since millennials and  generation Z shoppers are expected to represent 70% of luxury purchases by 2025. This is a powerful motivation for the omnichannel transformation of the sector and a 360-degree view of the customer.

Capitalize on customer knowledge

Luxury brands have a historic lead in customer relations. Typically speaking, each customer is linked to a specific sales advisor and customer preferences were stored on customer master records. Knowledge that was once scattered is now gathered in omnichannel customer data platforms. The customer, whether loyal or just passing through, appreciates being recognized and understood as soon as he or she walks through the store door.

But while luxury brands have always been at the forefront of personalized services, they have been slower to exploit their customer knowledge to improve the omnichannel brand experience. Unlike more accessible brands, luxury houses tend to be late in using AI to improve the accuracy of personalized recommendations. Today, by using a mix of technology and human intelligence, it is possible to further enhance the customer relationship.

Metaverse and virtual stores

Luxury brands have superior customer knowledge – and that knowledge is a powerful asset. It enriches the customer journey, even if the highlight is still the in-store visit. Even though shoppers have returned to physical stores en masse after the crisis, brands cannot fall into the trap of thinking omnichannel is simply a matter of connecting digital experience platforms and stores.

The metaverse must be recognized as a new channel. No doubt we will see luxury brands soon conquer these virtual worlds faster than any other brands. This is partly due to their late entrance and success in web 2.0. They realize they can’t afford not to shine when it comes to web 3.0.

In fact, some have already gained a foothold in the virtual worlds of the metaverse, succeeding in creating the event and arousing desire. Dolce & Gabanna, Burberry, and Gucci have effectively launched their first NFT haute couture pieces. Meanwhile, Balenciaga has even announced the creation of a business unit dedicated to the metaverse.

Future virtual worlds is already a reality. Capgemini is working on the creation of an ultra-personalized virtual showroom, where each customer will be presented with a personalized selection according to their purchase history and wishes.

That said, the metaverse will not replace the in-store experience, especially when it comes to luxury brands. Rather, digital innovation invites the store to reinvent itself; it would not be a surprise to see metaverse corners appearing in some stores in the near future.

A reinvented customer experience

It would be naive to think of the 3.0 customer experience as only digital. In reality, it is a journey of excellence made up of multiple stages: visit and re-visit; quality of the recommendation; right on-time order receipt; ease of return process. The future belongs to companies that see digital as an opportunity to improve their fundamentals, from logistics to customer service, including after-sales and repair. Omnichannel is defined as the coordination of all these touchpoints, in the service of active loyalty and reinvented customer care.

Most luxury brands have prospered in their digital transformation, while defending their values and specificities. They have embraced all omnichannel best practices without compromising the high-end experience. In that respect, click & collect is not just a delivery method – it is the starting point of a new ceremony: welcoming customers as soon as they pass the door and offering an exclusive discovery session of the product bought online. Every moment spent with a luxury brand must be memorable. This is what they have built their reputation on and what will continue to distinguish them from all other players.

Discover how we can help change consumer demands to drive digital transformation.

Connected engagement

Customers’ rising expectations for convenience and immediacy across channels means retailers must adopt an omnichannel strategy that allows any product to be purchased from anywhere, at any time, by any customer – safely and sustainably.

What matters to today’s consumer

For brands and retailers, evolving consumer behaviors and expectations are impacting every aspect of the business.

Meet our experts

Xaviere Tallent

Business strategist europe at capgemini, connect with us.

We are sorry, the form submission failed. Please try again.

Thank you for your submission. One of our experts will be in touch with you soon.

Digital Product Development

We team up with large enterprises and ambitious mid-market companies to deliver award‑winning websites, software, and UX. Partner with us to engineer impactful digital products. Read More

• software development
• Digital Product Engineering
• IoT Development Services
• mobile application development
• Enterprise Website Development
• emerging technologies

Customer Experience Solutions

Our experienced design team takes a design-thinking approach to create a seamless customer experience across all channels. We help you to truly understand your audience's needs so that you can create a delightful experience in the backdrop of consistent consumer behavioral shifts. 

• insights and actions services
• digital experience solutions
• growth marketing strategy and consulting
• CX strategy and custom research services
• membership and loyalty programs partner
• Personalized Experiences

Strategy & Consulting Services

Future-proof your business with a holistic, ROI-first approach to digital transformation. Read More

• enterprise architecture consulting
• IT consulting services
• business model innovation consulting
• migration and modernization solutions
• Change Management Consulting
• data engineering services
• cloud engineering services

Commerce Solutions

We build fully integrated omnichannel digital solutions for seamless customer experience. Reinvigorate growth with our end-to-end ecommerce services. Read More

• composable commerce
• omnichannel commerce
• B2B Customer Portals
• Custom Marketplaces

We are a technology agnostic company with an extended enterprise digital technology partner network that can help you overcome your business challenges. Read More

• Sitecore Platinum Partner
• Commercetools Partner
• Adobe Experience Manager
• Shopify Plus

How Luxury Brands Can Create and Scale Customer Experience Successfully

Be the first to know about our latest posts.

Sub-Service

• Customer Experience Strategy
• Personalization
• Luxury Ecommerce
• Retail Digital Transformation
• Ecommerce Development

Explore Icreon’s Digital Ecommerce and Consulting Services

Crafting memorable digital experiences: the key to luxury brand success.

In the ever-evolving world of luxury products and services, the digital landscape has become a critical arena for brands to connect with their discerning customers. The dynamics within customer experience have been changing rapidly over the last few years, impacting the way we live, work, and shop. As a result, luxury brands must adapt and embrace the digitization of the customer's entire buyers journey to stay ahead of the curve.

Creating a memorable digital customer experience has emerged as a pivotal factor in the success of luxury brands, influencing customer satisfaction, fostering loyalty, and driving business growth. This article delves into the essential elements and compelling statistics that demonstrate the importance of crafting unforgettable digital experiences for luxury customers. From personalization to seamless integration, immersive interactions, brand storytelling, and trust, each aspect plays a vital role in shaping the digital landscape for luxury brands.

Tips to Elevate Luxury Customer Experience

To keep up with the elite consumers’ growing affinity, brands must understand their digital opportunity and the foundational aspects of digital go-to-market success.

1. Storytelling is Key

Maintaining a strong brand image and storytelling is crucial, as luxury brands often have rich heritage and unique stories that resonate with customers. Leveraging social media platforms, digital campaigns, and influencer collaborations helps tell the brand's story and connect with the target audience. This heritage needs to be told digitally as well, in a way that accurately reflects the physical side of the business. This approach fosters customer loyalty and drives brand advocacy.

This was amplified during the pandemic where luxury brands reached out to their customers and tried to create a community. For example, a Spanish luxury fashion house, Loewe, launched a special project called 'LOEWE EN CASA'  (LOEWE at home), which is a series of Instagram live events and workshops to find that work-from-home harmony

2. Omnichannel Integration is Crucial

Seamless omnichannel integration is crucial, as 56% of luxury consumers consider their experience with a brand as the most important factor influencing their purchase decisions. Luxury brands must ensure a consistent and seamless experience across physical stores, websites, social media platforms, and mobile apps. This includes features such as unified inventory management and synchronized pricing and promotions.

3. Interactive Digital Experiences Boost Customer Engagement

Immersive and interactive digital experiences are vital, as they can boost customer engagement and brand affinity. Research shows that luxury customers prefer personalized experiences (73%) and that brands investing in immersive experiences witness increased customer engagement. Virtual showrooms, 360-degree product views, and augmented reality allow customers to explore luxury products in a digital environment, enhancing their shopping experience. Accompanied by the latest technologies like artificial intelligence, the internet of things , big data, and machine learning, the modern luxury segment is transforming. It is triggering changes while reshaping the way that consumers engage with the brand. Thus, brands are expected to embrace digitization which is a crucial source of reshaping the luxury customer experience. Because tomorrow's customers will want to live the experience – not just spend on luxury products or services.

4. Personalization Delights Customers

For the luxury industry, personalization  has always been the top priority for creating customer loyalty. Initially, personalization through store outlets and service facilities was some of the ways. But the explosion of the digital phenomenon over the past few years has created empowered customers. They now weave both their digital and physical worlds so intricately that they can’t realize why brands aren’t doing the same.

Customer desires continually evolve in numerous ways, requiring brands to find unique and creative ways to stay competitive with their products or service offerings. Business leaders can utilize customization and personalization options to create new offerings for current customers and ultimately persuade new customers.

Consider Steinway & Sons, as an example. The German American piano company Steinway & Sons , is a top choice for 98% of concert pianists because of its exceptional quality. To improve their digital customer experience, Steinway & Sons reinvented their CX strategies by aligning their internal operations and technology road mapping. This helped them to meet the expectations of their digitally savvy clientele.

The crucial competitive differentiator in the luxury segment is to cater to the individual. This is what defines luxury, and it is a challenge for any brand looking forward to providing a luxury customer experience. The keys to serving an impeccable experience are customer segmentation, research, observation, and communication.

5. E-Commerce is Taking Over

According to a report by Statista , e-commerce will make up around 25% of the global luxury market by 2025. Over the past years, the luxury market has undergone several transformations while expanding the customer base further than we could have imagined.

But before the recent global evolution, luxury market pioneers had won over a generation of customers obsessed with exclusivity and newness. Success usually came from immersive retail experiences and relentless streams of novelty for many. But that has changed dramatically by the digital age that has allowed people to engage with their beloved brands whenever they want.

After decades of innovation and significant changes, the luxury market is now brimming with the second wave of growing brands who have already made their e-commerce channels a bigger priority. Embracing e-commerce can bring a crucial revenue source and an opportunity to receive an entirely new set of customers.

6. Data Analytics Win Big

Data analytics is a tool to explore customer data to understand their preferences, choices, interests, and behaviors. For luxury brands, as it is a matter of selling quality to the right audience, reflecting the luxury items directly towards the right audience with the help of data analytics will not just help them understand the customer and meet their needs, but also result in a shorter sales cycle.

By embedding data analytics , a luxury brand can connect on a responsive activity-based level with its registered client base. Understanding the purchase behaviors and customer lifestyle is not possible with manual tasking for the elite client base. Thus, from the data insights, luxury brands can shape their portfolios in a more customized way, and showcase it to the target clientele for better response. Hence, leveraging big data analytics will help a luxury brand evolve and scale their CX journey faster.

Moreover, data insights will, no doubt, transform the customer experience journey, but also help the brand to explore new customer engagement opportunities to invest in.

It's Time to Embrace the Rapid Change to Unlock Business Value

In summary, by focusing on personalization, seamless omnichannel integration, immersive experiences, brand storytelling, and trust and security, luxury brands can create a digital ecosystem that drives customer satisfaction, loyalty, and business growth. These factors are backed by statistics that highlight the significance of investing in a compelling digital customer experience for luxury brands.

If you are looking for a partner to help you elevate your digital customer experience, explore Icreon’s Digital Ecommerce and Luxury Industry Consulting Services .

Related Insights

Unlock business agility with composable dxps.

Discover how composable digital experience platforms (DXPs) are revolutionizing the digital landscape by enabling unparalleled flexibility.

Generative AI in Retail: Lessons from Luxury Brands

Discover how luxury retailers are leveraging Generative AI to elevate their CX and what lessons everyday retailers and consumer goods brands can learn to stand out in their markets.

Overcoming Top Barriers to Customer Engagement & Loyalty

Struggling to connect with your customers? Learn how to overcome the top barriers to customer engagement and build stronger, more profitable relationships.

B2B Online Chicago 2024 Recap: Key Takeaways on Future Proofing Your Business

B2B Online Chicago 2024 ignited growth strategies! Explore key takeaways on e-commerce, AI, sales synergy & digital transformation for B2B success.

The Rise of RPA in Retail Transformation

Revolutionize your retail business with RPA and stay ahead in the competitive market.

How Speed Influences Customer Satisfaction and Sales in Commerce

Discover how to outpace competitors in ecommerce with our guide on speed optimization. Learn why speed is the ultimate differentiator in customer satisfaction and business growth.

What are the best practices for risk-free Salesforce Deployment

Discover expert strategies for a risk-free Salesforce deployment. Enhance customer experiences, streamline operations, and drive growth with our step-bystep guide

B2B Manufacturers Embrace Direct-to-Consumer Market Dynamics

Discover the strategic insights and steps needed to transition from B2B to D2C in our comprehensive whitepaper successfully. Unlock new opportunities and navigate the evolving marketplace with confidence.

Headless CMS Frameworks & GraphQL API Service

Explore the future of ecommerce with DXP solutions. Learn how shifting from traditional CMS to DXP, headless CMS, and GraphQL advancements can elevate your online store's performance.

Embrace AI Now: DXP Solutions for Websites & Mobile Apps

Elevate user experiences and drive sales with AI-driven DXP solutions. Learn how Icreon implements AI-driven strategies to revolutionize your digital presence.

Endeca to Algolia Migration – The Future-Proof Strategy

Discover how migrating from Endeca to Algolia can revolutionize your search capabilities and reduce costs in the digital marketplace.

Global Omnichannel Leadership Report 2024

Dissecting omnichannel strategies across 700 global brands. Benchmark your omnichannel maturity against industry standards and gain executive insights from the free leadership report.

The Recommendation Revolution: A Guide to Personalization

Recommendation systems are powerful personalization tools. Learn how an ML-based personalized recommendation system integration allows you to open different ways to boost customer engagement and conversions.

The Essential 7-Step Guide to Achieving Composable Success

Discover the key to composable architecture. Learn the steps to innovate and optimize in the digital landscape.

Luxury Shopping User Groups and Journeys

June 12, 2022 2022-06-12

• Email article
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Twitter

This article is the second in a three-part series. The first article of the series explores the conflict between luxury and traditional ecommerce strategies. This second article talks about different luxury user groups, as well as their behaviors and shopping journey. The third article explores how luxury brands can provide a high-quality ecommerce experience while still adhering to inherent luxury values and principles

In This Article:

About our research, 4 types of luxury shoppers, professional stylists, window shoppers, occasional splurgers , big spenders, the luxury-shopping journey: occasional splurgers and big spenders, conclusion: focus on the consideration phase.

To investigate this phenomenon, we conducted a  qualitative study  involving 9 participants, in a mix of interviews and usability testing. These participants included:

• Customers who had just recently started purchasing luxury products
• Luxury fanatics who frequently bought products from their favorite brands
• Personal stylists who buy luxury goods for their wealthy clients
• A luxury consultant, who provides advice to high-profile luxury clients

As much as possible, we allowed our participants to bring their own tasks and choose their preferred sites and apps. For example, we observed participants who shopped for:

• A pair of Jimmy Choo heels
• A silk Hermès scarf
• A Chanel handbag
• A Louis Vuitton briefcase
• A Burberry coat
• A Cartier bracelet
• A Tiffany’s wedding band
• A Rolex watch
• A pair of Golden Goose sneakers
• A luxury hotel room in Berlin

In our study, we encountered four types of people who shop for luxury goods:

• Professional stylists
• Window shoppers
• Occasional splurgers 
• Big spenders

These are high-level categories. Within each group, there are variations in characteristics or behaviors. Additionally, the same individual may be an occasional splurger for one product type or brand, but a big spender for others. For example, a wealthy lawyer may be a big spender when it comes to designer suits, but an occasional splurger on luxury cars.

Individuals can also move across categories over time. For example, someone who is not born wealthy but is fortunate enough to build substantial wealth over time may move from a window shopper, to an occasional splurger, to a big spender, and perhaps eventually to someone who can pay a professional stylist to buy luxury goods for them.

Professional stylists (also called personal shoppers) purchase luxury items on behalf of a client. They’re all business when it comes to luxury shopping — they’re familiar with the brands their clients favor, and they want to decide on items and purchase them quickly. 

The stylists included in our study seldom used individual brand sites, preferring instead to use luxury-shopping platforms like Farfetch and Net-a-Porter. They frequently purchased many luxury goods to take to their clients and returned whatever their clients didn’t want.

Luxury brands sometimes have enormous fan bases composed of people who can’t afford to buy the products. Many of these are younger consumers who follow the brand and aspire to someday be able to buy its products. 

None of the participants in our study were window shoppers. (We intentionally recruited people who had purchased luxury items at least a few times in the past.) However, several of our participants reported that they had been fans of specific luxury brands long before they were able to afford them.

These shoppers buy a luxury item every now and then. For them, a luxury purchase — typically, a long-wearing, durable item like a bag — is an indulgence and an investment, sometimes intended to celebrate a special occasion. 

One occasional splurger told us that she viewed her luxury purchases as future family heirlooms:

“I don’t buy extra trendy pieces that I think may not be in fashion in a couple of decades. So, basically, things I can hopefully hand down to my future daughters.”

Another participant in this user group shopped for her first pair of Jimmy Choo shoes. She had been a fan of Jimmy Choo for a long time (a window shopper) and decided she would finally splurge on a pair for her wedding.

For these shoppers, an in-person visit to a luxury store is a special treat they enjoy and look forward to. For many, the in-person experience is as important as the item itself.

Big spenders are habitual, frequent luxury shoppers. This type of shopper accounts for the majority of luxury sales. They buy many kinds of luxury goods and services and tend to have strong loyalty to multiple brands. One big spender in our study described her favorite brands for us:

“I love Chanel and Hermes. For shoes, Valentino is always classic, and Manolo Blahnik. For outerwear for business, I’ll buy Burberry. For something more functional, I’ll go for Canada Goose.” 

These customers sometimes view luxury as a hobby or source of entertainment. Some of them build collections of specific items (for example, Rolex watches or rare Chanel purses). 

Brand Experts

Big spenders tend to be extremely familiar with the brands they love, including their product lines and the history of the brand. One big spender who treats luxury as a hobby said that she always researches the company’s leadership and history when she starts to become interested in the brand.

“I definitely like to look at  the people and the history of a brand . I probably spend too much time doing that. If I’m getting sucked into a new brand, I’ll take time to look at it. I want to know what they’re about. It makes it more of a connection. Like, Tom Ford is really cool as a person, so I’m more likely to shop his stuff. So, I spend time looking at the history before I go look at the products.”

This is another key difference between luxury shopping and typical shopping. Most consumers wouldn’t take the time to read about a brand’s ethos and history before buy a $40 shirt, but luxury customers want to know the brand before they spend $1000 on a shirt.

This deep familiarity with the brand helps to explain  why so many luxury retailers fail to provide important product details in their sites and apps  (a frequent problem, analyzed in the next article). Limited information on digital channels (accompanied by high prices) acts as an  entry barrier  — an intentional way to restrict the customer base to only those who love the brand and have done the work of getting information about it and its products through other means. 

For example, the website of French luxury retailer Maison Goyard does not provide any prices for its products, which can only be purchased by contacting the company or visiting a physical location. During our study, one big spender who was already very familiar with the brand quickly guessed that a certain Goyard bag would cost about $2,400. (I checked the price after the session — she was exactly right.)

Relationship with the Brand: Stores and Sales Representatives

Some big spenders have dedicated sales representatives with their favorite brands, who help them to locate and buy special items not available to all customers. A big spender in our study described her close relationship with a Chanel sales representative. She met her representative in a Chanel store and keeps in touch with her via text messages:

“The person who’s gotten me the majority of the [Chanel] pieces that I have, she knows me. She knows about my life. It’s almost like  you have a friend in the industry who’s recommending pieces.  It’s a lot like a personal-stylist relationship. They get you access to things that are difficult to find, but they’ll also recommend things you wouldn’t know that you’d like. It kind of makes it a more connected experience, and, in a world where everything is at our fingertips, it makes it more special in that way. […] As much as possible, I try to get things from her. If I’m looking for a piece, I’ll ask her. She gives me access to things that have waiting lists.”

While a trip to a store may not be the rare treat it is for occasional splurgers, big spenders still appreciate and enjoy the experience. One big spender told us about his experiences at his favorite local luxury-jewelry shop, Bailey’s.

“I’m in Bailey’s a lot, buying wedding gifts and things. I know the people that work there, and they’re super helpful. They always greet me with champagne, which I love. It’s just that  extra customer care , and it makes it  a fun experience .”

Some big spenders reported receiving extra perks from the salespeople they’ve built relationships with. For example, free products, free expert repairs, and invitations to special events and parties.

The following discussion focuses on the two main types of luxury shoppers: occasional splurgers and big spenders. As mentioned above, we did not include any window shoppers in our study, because we wanted to focus on people who have some experience with luxury purchases. Professional stylists shop for luxury goods as a major part of their jobs, so their needs and knowledge of the domain are highly specialized. They also tend to heavily rely on third-party sites to shop. 

While occasional splurgers and big spenders differed in some key behaviors, their luxury-shopping journeys were similar and consisted of 4 phases: 

One major difference between occasional splurgers and big spenders was the frequency with which they shopped for luxury items — a big spender might go through the luxury-shopping journey nearly constantly, while an occasional splurger might go a year or more without a luxury purchase. Additionally, big spenders were likely to move through the purchase process more quickly than occasional splurgers.

Other key differences between these two user groups are discussed below.

1. Discover

Luxury shoppers often discovered products through social media or by noticing friends or strangers with an item they liked. Some frequently followed their favorite designers’ latest collections and discovered items from the runway.

Big spenders were more likely to become aware of a new product serendipitously — not by actively seeking out a specific product, but instead by stumbling upon something that struck their interest. Sometimes that happened during one of their frequent visits to luxury stores. 

Occasional splurgers were more likely to decide that they wanted to invest in a certain a type of product (e.g., a bag) before beginning the search for the right item. They might also buy a luxury product to celebrate a special occasion (such as a wedding or promotion).

2. Consider

In this phase, luxury shoppers tried to learn about the product(s) that interested them and to decide which luxury product to buy. Because luxury shoppers often first discover products by  seeing  them (for example, on Instagram or on the runway), they’re faced with the immediate problem of  trying to find out what that item’s name is  (if it has one) and where they could buy it.

For both occasional splurgers and big spenders, this phase involved lots of research, primarily digital. They visited luxury-brand sites, luxury department stores’ sites, and luxury platforms like Net-a-Porter. They looked for reviews and asked friends about their experiences. Big spenders also sometimes reached out to their personal sales representatives if they already had a relationship with that luxury brand.

Along with the discovery phase, this was the  longest phase  in the journey. People don’t often “need” luxury products quickly, so most luxury shoppers want to take their time to decide. For example, one big spender told us:

“I saw this bag in the Louis Vuitton store, I’ve had my eye on it for a while. I just haven’t bought it yet. I just want to make sure that there isn’t anything else I should consider. I might buy it the next couple of months, maybe.”

Especially for occasional splurgers, these purchases often represent a significant investment, so customers want to be very sure that they considered all options and alternatives before making a decision. In contrast, a big spender with an ample budget who needs a specific item for an upcoming event, like a dress for a gala or a suitcase for a trip, might spend less time in this phase.

In our study, however, even big spenders considered luxury purchases carefully. One big spender who had her heart set on a specific Burberry coat added it to her cart on the Burberry site. Before checking out, she decided to explore the brand’s entire outwear collection just to make sure there wasn’t anything better. “If I’m going to buy one,” she said, “I want to see all the options.”

One occasional splurger was considering buying an expensive briefcase from Louis Vuitton but wanted to ensure it was the right choice.

“This bag is $3,200, that’s a pretty big purchase. I want to see this in person and touch it and feel it. Am I going to be able to put my Surface Pro and my iPad in there? Will they be protected? I don’t want to spend $3,200 on a bag that ends up not really being what I bought it for… But I do love this bag.”

Several luxury shoppers also reported feeling  anxious about returns.  Some said they just hated returning items in general, while others said they specifically hated having to return luxury items, because they represented such a big financial and emotional investment. One big spender who collected special-edition Chanel items said she didn’t like returns because she “didn’t like thinking about someone else getting it.” Some luxury retailers had ungenerous return policies (for example, Tom Ford only allowed returns within 14 days. Additionally, some shoppers worried that their very expensive items might get lost during shipping.

(Fear of returns was not a problem for the professional shoppers in our study — they purchased lots of options for their clients, knowing they’d need to return many of them.)

The  Consider  phase tended to be  the low point in the luxury-shopping journey  and it was  where luxury brand sites often failed customers . Many of the sites we tested suffered from:

• Poor organization and information architecture:  Participants struggled to find specific products as well as general product categories.
• Few photos of the product:  Many participants complained about not being able to see models with the product to get a  sense of its size  and not being able to see all product details or angles.
• Confusing product names, attributes, and terminology:  Several sites failed to explain and clarify the different products and their attributes.
• Missing product details:  Participants wondered about product size, material, and styling.
• Bad product recommendations:  Unlike the in-store experience, most of these sites provided unhelpful recommendations if at all.
• Sloppy UI design and bugs:  Shoppers sometimes encountered embarrassing design or development mistakes.

Luxury shoppers tend to be highly motivated to buy, so they are often willing to work around these problems. When they encountered bad digital experiences, many participants said they would visit a store to see the product in person and ask questions. 

However, these experiences did sometimes  damage customers’ perception of the brands’ professionalism and attention to detail  — qualities that luxury brands strive for. Additionally, we observed a few instances where customers were discouraged enough to give up shopping for that item — particularly if they didn’t live near a physical store. In some cases, they abandoned the offending brand and went to look at a competitor.

3. Purchase

This phase was often the high point for customers — after considering and exploring options, sometimes for months, they finally acquired the item they wanted. Participants reported that the experience of visiting a store or unboxing a beautifully wrapped package was elating. 

The in-store purchase experience was particularly enjoyable. Participants reported being showered with attention and feeling special. Sales representatives were endlessly patient and helpful, willing to answer any question they might have. When they returned to a store they had visited in the past, the staff remembered details about them and their past purchases.

Wearing and using these items brought satisfaction to luxury shoppers, but also some anxieties.

When someone wears or uses a luxury product, it acts as a signal to others who are “in the know” — in other words, people who recognize the financial and social status attached to the brand. Logos often play a major role in sending this signal. 

Some luxury shoppers wanted noticeable brand logos on the luxury products they bought and used. Occasional splurgers were more likely to feel this way. The occasional splurger who was shopping for a Louis Vuitton briefcase told us:

“If I’m going to buy an LV bag,  I want it to have the logo  and symbol on it. You’re paying for the style. It makes you feel really good.”

On the other hand, some shoppers (particularly big spenders) preferred to have subtle logos on their luxury goods — if any logo at all. They reported feeling this way for one or more of the following reasons:

• They felt that heavily branded items with noticeable logos were too “flashy” or “tacky” and not a “refined” approach to luxury.
• They had seen many fake, knockoff versions of the heavily branded items.
• They wanted to avoid being perceived as trying too hard or showing off, particularly around people who couldn’t afford those items.
• They wanted to avoid attracting “unwanted attention” from thieves. (Theft was a concern for these customers — one participant reported that she had had two Rolex watches stolen.)

For example, one big spender living in New York City told us:

“I would never get one of those big Louis Vuitton purses that everybody has. A lot of people here [New York City] have fake ones.  What’s the point of having a nice luxury item when there are a ton of people wearing the fake version  of it all around me? I usually try to get something that’s a bit more subtle and unique.”

She also told us that she rode the subway to work and worried about looking too flashy while she commuted.

“If I were to wear something  very flashy  that was completely covered in Gucci print, I would probably get stared at. I do use public transportation, which is  a little bit dangerous.  I wouldn’t want to have head-to-toe designer logos on. For one thing, I don’t want people on public transit  feel insecure or uncomfortable  because I can afford these things and they can’t. But also, I don’t want to be a target and get  unwanted attention .”

(This shopper was excited when she found a reversible Burberry coat during her test session — simple black on one side, with the recognizable Burberry print on the other. She decided to buy the coat, because she could wear the simple fabric during her commute, but the recognizable print to other locations and events.)

Another anxiety that appeared at this stage was maintaining the item. While luxury goods are typically perceived to be higher quality and longer lasting than less expensive versions, this isn’t always the case. The occasional splurger considering the Louis Vuitton briefcase told us:

“There are a million other bags that would be just as good — probably even more so. Is that leather any better than any other bag? Actually, it’s not. I’ve had LV products before, and they do fray. They don’t last forever. They do have a warranty, so you can send it back and have it repaired.”

The purchase of a luxury product is often just the beginning of a long-term relationship with that brand. Maintenance and warranty services are typically (though not always) included services for these high-end items. These services make luxury customers feel as those they’re buying membership in a club as much as the item itself, and they contribute to the long-term relationship with the brand.

“I’ve taken my Rolex watches and luxury jewelry pieces back into the stores for cleaning. I think that’s very good, it’s one of the values for these brands. They do treat you as  a customer for life , and that’s factored into the initial purchase experience.”

Our clearest takeaway from this research is  that luxury brands’ sites and apps are most important during the consideration phase of their customers’ journey,  when luxury shoppers research the products that they discovered .   This phase is critical not only for big spenders and occasional splurgers, but also for window shoppers, who need an accessible way to explore the products they aspire to someday buy. Subpar digital experiences fall short of luxury shoppers’ expectations as they research potential purchases. Luxury brands should focus on better satisfying customer needs in this phase.

The third article in this series shares specific ways in which luxury brands can provide high-quality digital experiences that assist in the consideration phase, while complementing luxury values and principles.

Related Courses

Omnichannel journeys and customer experience.

Create a seamless, cohesive cross-channel experience

Interaction

Journey Mapping to Understand Customer Needs

Capture and communicate UX insights across complex interactions

Customer-Journey Management

Build a crossfunctional journey-centric design approach that scales

Related Topics

• Ecommerce Ecommerce
• Customer Journeys

Learn More:

Livestream Ecommerce: 7 Tips for Good UX

Feifei Liu · 5 min

Is Livestream Selling Right for Your Business?

Feifei Liu · 6 min

Transactional Notification 101

Feifei Liu · 4 min

Related Articles:

Why So Many Luxury Brands Are Terrible at Ecommerce

Kate Moran · 9 min

Size Guides and Product Measurements for International Shoppers

Feifei Liu · 9 min

6 Tips for Improving Language Switchers on Ecommerce Sites

Feifei Liu · 11 min

The State of Ecommerce UX: COVID-19 and Direct-to-Consumer Retail Raise the Bar

Kate Moran and Kim Flaherty · 5 min

Alternatives to Pagination on Product-Listing Pages

Kate Moran · 8 min

6 Tips for Product Photos on Listing Pages

4 Luxury Brands Successfully Enhancing The Customer Journey

Luxury and what attracts consumers to it is changing, so re-imagining the customer journey is essential Here, Luxury Society Knowledge Partner and marketing agency Cocoon spotlights some brands doing just that.

Consumer expectations are evolving alongside technology, and as a result the customer journey is shifting too.

High-net-worth individuals are increasingly looking for richer shopping experiences that are both convenient and effortless – taking into account that they are increasingly time poor. As a result, luxury brands are turning to new ways to engage and capture attention. Whether that’s through influencing technology or leveraging partnerships and platforms, the opportunities are huge.

Here we look at some of the recent trends and brands innovating this month.

“ VR is becoming more influential in advertising, which has the benefit of successfully enticing people in-store ”

Futureproofing With VR

As technology evolves, so does the environment where, when and how we shop. We’re already seeing virtual reality (VR) becoming more influential in advertising, which has the benefit of successfully enticing people in-store.

However, surely its greatest potential for luxury brands is its ability to connect with the consumers who are unable to get in-store or are short of time. Already we’re seeing luxury brands like Christian Dior and Tommy Hilfiger dabbling in this space, with a flux of other brands now sitting up and taking notice.

A brand doing just that is Westfield shopping centre in London and its collaboration with the Sanderson Hotel. Westfield has installed smart interactive mirrors in the hotel’s luxury Loft Terrace suite, allowing prosperous guests to speak to stylists and browse and purchase goods from designers including Armani and Gucci.

The smart mirror appears as a regular reflection when unattended, and is activated by pressing a button, allowing guests to switch on their own virtual stylist. With shops in close proximity to the hotel, it provides the perfect opportunity to share relevant content and engage with guests. It’s also an effective way for retailers to widen their reach without having to invest in expensive store networks, bridging the gap between online and physical shopping.

Another brand tapping into virtual reality is Tag Heuer, with the help of the New York Times’ VR mobile app. The app brings virtual reality to the everyday consumer through the use of their smartphone or Google Cardboard, providing an immersive 360-degree video experience.

Tag Heuer’s content on the app, titled “Crafting a Legend: Ride with Tag Heuer,” puts users in the driver’s seat and delves into the heritage of its Carrera timepiece.

Viewers are able to move the screen around to see the movements in a way which traditional video does not allow, and as a result creating an interactive experience with the brand’s products.

Craftsmanship

Craft in an important element of luxury. Brands are often seen touting craftsmanship to help form closer connections and remind consumers of the extensive work that goes into creating products.

Glenmorangie is doing just that by going beyond the cask in its latest efforts. The Scotch Whisky distiller has partnered with British sunglasses brand Finlay & Co. to create a bespoke pair made from repurposed oak cask barrels. Each pair is designed to highlight the cask’s natural wood pattern and consumers have the option to add a personal engraving, ensuring each pair will be distinct – a quality likely to be of interest to the discerning luxury consumer.

As Seen On Snapchat

Snapchat provides brands with tremendous reach. Its fleeting nature ensures people stop and pay attention – something that’s more valuable than ever with today’s diminishing attention spans. As the platform’s popularity has grown, a number of brands such as Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang and Burberry have streamed behind the scenes footage to build buzz with the sizeable Snapchat community.

Burberry has continued to lead the way when it comes to navigating this new digital terrain by running its very own Discover channel on the platform – a short-lived native ad with a suite of branded content.

The channel, dedicated to promoting its latest men’s fragrance, “Mr. Burberry”, marks the first time a luxury brand has sponsored a Discover channel.

Burberry content from the platform

The channel features style and fragrance content, along with grooming and tailoring tips all focussed on “how to be a modern man”. To ensure all the dots are connected, shoppers in-store are prompted to scan a Burberry Snapcode, directing them to fragrance and grooming content online.

With such a high potential for storytelling and awareness building, Snapchat is becoming more than just behind the scenes footage.

Luxury consumers are enthusiastic adopters of new tech, and notably have the money to invest, so it’s important for brands to keep their fingers on the pulse to stay relevant. As already seen here, brands that think innovatively through the likes of tech and partnerships can reap the rewards.

Marketing Manager, Microsoft

Charlotte is Marketing Manager at Cocoon, which is a global marketing offering that facilitates connections between luxury brands and their consumers. Cocoon understands the unique relationships, networks and cultures in the luxury space – and how to navigate them. So as well as providing tailored, high-quality marketing activity, it is uniquely placed to forge potential partnerships between high-net-worth individuals and brands working within the sector.

Related articles

How to court VICs through clienteling?

In The World Of Fashion, Lifestyle and Beauty, Instagram Still Reigns Supreme: Report

WeChat Luxury Index 2023: How to Connect With 1.3 Billion Consumers?

The luxury of time—Digitally enhanced experiences in an analog industry

Ben leads McKinsey Design in EMEA and the firm's global research on design. He advises clients on creating bold new products and services.

Works on a wide-range of interdisciplinary projects for McKinsey including consumer products and healthcare.

Works at the intersection of psychology, emerging technology and design. She creates interdisciplinary R&D, Innovation and Skunkworks teams and labs for organizations that want to experiment, think forward and invent the future.

The times they are a changin'

April 12, 2019 Life is short, buy the dress. We all have those treat yourself moments and in luxury, customer experience is paramount. Successful brands invest heavily in sumptuous billboard ads, glamorous shops in the most fashionable areas, attentive salespeople and increasingly, a stylish online presence.

Luxury shoppers want to feel special from the moment they hear about a product to every time they encounter it again. Many luxury brands are getting the sales experience right; however, when the excitement of the purchase has subsided, the after-sales support can feel lackluster.

To make these customers feel special, luxury firms must first understand their consumer: luxury shoppers are younger, more digitally savvy, and are relying more heavily on mobile channels than ever before. The typical luxury shopper now has a mixture of online and offline interactions with the brand, seeks advice from peers on social media or looks for suggestions from trusted bloggers before entering a store. Of course, an Instagram post surely follows a purchase.

Despite the increasing prominence of digital and mobile, few luxury brands have successfully integrated these channels into their post-sale customer experience. It’s easy to throw around “mobile” and “digital” buzzwords, but what should it look like in practice? How might luxury brands use these channels to create a truly exceptional customer experience? Join us for the real, recent journey of one luxury customer. We will identify their pain points and provide food for thought for how digital interventions might help.

Story 1: The journey of today

Steven wakes up one morning to find that his USD 15,000 watch has failed to keep the time for the third night in a row. Looking up the watchmaker online, he realizes that he’ll have to leave work early to make it to their only shop in London before it closes at 6:00 pm.

He tears himself away at 5:15 pm and makes the voyage across the city, planning to drop off the watch and then spend some time browsing.

Upon arrival, he’s asked to fill out a lengthy form with the same details he gave the shop when he was there the last time, to buy the watch.

It takes 20 minutes to book the watch in. Steven isn’t in the mood to appreciate the shop’s interior or to examine other watches, he just wants to move on with his evening.

He asks the sales assistant when he can expect to have his watch back and how much the work will cost. The salesperson doesn’t know, but tells him to expect an e-mail in the next few weeks. Steven leaves and tweets his disappointment later that evening. There is no response from the brand.

Two weeks later, Steven receives a standardized e-mail: his watch has arrived in Switzerland, and the assessment will take four to six weeks. This is his first notification of a time frame, and it’s much longer than he was expecting.

After six weeks with no contact from the watchmaker, Steven is informed through another e-mail that the repairs will cost USD 1,500 and will take a further 14 weeks. He is given the option of having his strap replaced for an additional USD 300. Steven gives his approval for the repairs and strap replacement.

Another eight weeks pass with no update from the watchmaker. Finally, an email arrives: Steven’s watch is available for collection at the shop. He leaves work early once again to make it to the shop.

A new salesperson hands him his watch and informs him that although his watch is ready, the new strap will, in fact, take another six weeks. Steven takes the watch and leaves.

Steven has a glass of wine with a friend that evening. She admires the watch and says that she was thinking about getting one herself. Steven says that he loves the watch but hates the service and advises her not to buy one.

The next week, another e-mail tells him that the strap has arrived. If he’d been told that the strap would be ready in a week, he’d have delayed picking up the watch. Instead, he must leave work early for the third time.

Steven is uninterested in looking around the shop and is too irritated to appreciate the knowledge and professionalism of the customer service representative.

With the strap fitted, Steven leaves the shop for what he hopes is the last time. On his way out, he uploads a negative post on Instagram and tags the watchmaker. He’s glad that the “experience” is finally over.

Story 2: The journey of tomorrow

Steven wakes up one morning to find that his USD 15,000 watch has failed to keep time for the third night in a row. He opens the watchmaker’s mobile site, quickly snaps a picture of the back of his watch and waits a few seconds while his records are found.

The site gives Steven two options: have an Uber Lux take him to the shop today or book a courier from his office at his convenience. He selects the latter and keeps working. The courier arrives, collects the watch and is off in under two minutes.

Steven gets a notification later that evening.

His London customer service representative has left him a video message. Holding Steven’s watch up to the screen, the representative lets him know that it has arrived safely and that it will need to be sent to their Swiss repair facility for assessment.

Steven taps “accept” and is taken to a journey page which shows the estimated dates of each repair step, up until the moment his watch will be returned. Over the next day, Steven tracks the watch as it moves toward Switzerland.

While the watch is in transit, the representative sends Steven images he thinks may be of interest from the company’s archive: the first hand-drawn design of the watch, a photo of the watchmaker experimenting with dials and the first image of the prototype ever being worn.

Two weeks later, Steven receives another video message – this time from a Swiss repair technician. The message includes clips of the watch’s intricate mechanism. Steven can approve a list of suggested repairs or have a video call with a technician to talk him through the work. He opts for the call.

The technician appears on the screen and explains the mechanics of the watch as he covers the repairs. During the discussion, he offers Steven a series of upgrades: a silicon mainspring which wasn’t available when the watch was made; an anti-reflective coating; and Steven’s initials engraved on the flywheel.

Steven gives the go-ahead for the repair works and mainspring upgrade, for a total of USD 3,200. For the watchmaker, this additional fee allows them to cover the cost of the service and to offer some “free” extras to leave a positive, lasting impression. Later that evening, Steven praises the service during a drink with his friend.

Steven follows the rest of the repairs through the journey page, which updates regularly with time-lapse repair videos. Once the repairs are complete, a video icon takes Steven to a two-minute video, showcasing the most interesting parts of the repair process, with a personal message from the technician.

One week later, Steven receives a video message from the same customer care representative: the watch is ready. This time, Steven decides to come into the shop. An Uber Lux collects him from work.

The representative is waiting with a cup of tea and Steven’s watch. The representative tells him that the strap has been replaced for free. Steven looks around the shop and begins to think about purchasing a watch for his daughter.

The time is now

Steven’s subpar experience in “the journey of today” is not unusual even in 2018 [See Exhibit 1]. However, does Steven’s post-sale experience really matter to the watchmaker?

Nobel laureate Dr. Daniel Kahneman and Professor Barbara Fredrickson might argue: “More than you’d expect.” In 1993, they proposed and tested the “peak-end rule,” which holds that people judge an experience based primarily on how they felt at two key points: the most intense period (the “peak”), and the “end.”

The post-sale experience is the “end” of the customer journey; and the key to driving higher customer loyalty and increased recurring revenue. As the example above illustrates, digital interactions can enhance (rather than replace) the traditional “analog” engagement model and improve customer experience without introducing disproportionate new costs.

Some companies have already started paving the way; Hublot and Jaeger-LeCoultre have launched digital service portals with preliminary fault identification and price estimates based on a serial number. Hublot is encouraging customers to adopt this feature by offering a one-year warranty extension to those who have downloaded their app.

Beyond watches, there are many indications of a digital future for luxury retailers. Toplife, a Chinese invite-only luxury platform, has launched “JD Luxury Express”, which uses specially trained, well-dressed couriers to deliver goods via electric vehicles, within 24 hours. British fashion retailer Burberry offers “Burberry Bespoke”, a digital tool allowing users to customize every aspect of their trench coat. French conglomerate LVMH, which owns brands including Dior and Louis Vuitton, has launched “La Maison des Startups”, an incubator which aims to incorporate digital services into LMVH brands. An early idea is the use of visual recognition technology to customize clothing.

However, most senior leaders of luxury companies we have spoken to believe digital augmentation of the customer journey remains an area of strategic weakness, with substantial improvement required over the next two years. Today, the digital augmentation of luxury experiences has the potential to delight customers and distinguish brands. But by 2020, luxury leaders believe that digital will be the new normal; the question will not be whether luxury executives should invest in digital, but how they can distinguish their digital offering from their competitors. Beginning the process can be daunting, but for luxury brands looking to realize the potential of digital interventions, we recommend selecting a single product segment and/or store for one major city, and pilot with these three steps:

• Map out the current end-to-end customer journey, based on customer feeling. Ensure that the map covers the full journey; for “hard” luxury goods like watches, jewelry and long-life fashion, this includes any servicing, repair, or upgrading after the initial sale. Pay attention to the peaks and troughs, as well as points which constitute the “end” of an experience.
• Create a long-list of digital interventions at each point of the customer journey. Evaluate the case for each intervention in terms of ease of implementation, net cost (considering revenue generation), and impact on the customer experience. Select a shortlist of interventions and re-map the end-to-end customer journey [See Exhibit 3].
• Refine the new journey: iterate your chosen digital interventions to soften troughs, boost peaks, and ensure that the end is something that will leave customers feeling truly special.

Connect with Design

• Customer experience ...

Customer experience design strategies for luxury brands

Table of content

Luxury brands need to deliver impeccable customer experience design to be competitive. Businesses in the U.S. alone have lost an estimated $1.6 trillion by rendering poor user experiences ( Accenture Strategy ).

Luxury brands must understand that customer's needs are evolving, and so should the customer experience offered in-store or online. Forbes has discovered that 74% of consumers would at least be somewhat likely to buy based on their experiences alone across customer touchpoints. What's more, PwC affirms that customers would pay a 16% prime premium if they could get a great customer experience.

Now more than ever, it's vital for luxury brands to take design thinking seriously. But before we delve into the experience design strategies, let's understand what customer experience design is.

What is a customer experience design?

Customer experience design is the process of UX designers optimizing the user experiences across all the touchpoints of the customer journey, including awareness, consideration, and decision-making.

Here's an example of how Baccarat , a French luxury brand, uses customer experience design to nudge customers towards sales.

Baccarat renders a great digital experience for its customers by allowing them to customize their chandeliers. Customers can change the size, tweak the accessories, increase or decrease the number of lights, and change the color of the crystal in their light fixtures.

What's more, through simulation, customers can view their chandeliers in 3D. If they wish to see how their customized luxury ceiling fixture will look in their houses, they can capture their interior, upload it on Baccarat’s site, and see how the chandelier looks in the chosen location.

This immersive customer experience design accelerates the sales cycle because customers can incarnate the luxury piece of their choice and see how it suits their interiors.

Importance of customer experience design in luxury retail

With the internet at their fingertips, customers are empowered. They have sufficient resources to educate themselves on which luxury brand they can turn to if one fails them. That’s why it's so important to invest in customer experience design.

Research by Forrester and Adobe shows that businesses that are experience-driven see over 1.5x higher customer reach and impressions.

Further research from Epsilon shows that “80% of customers are more likely to do business with a company if it offers personalized experiences.”

How do you create a good customer experience design for luxury retail?

1. Empathy mapping

Use an empathy map to understand customer's needs.

An empathy map ideally uses four quadrants labeled as “think,” “say,” “feel,” and “do_._” That will help the customer support team garner a complete picture of the customer and understand what actions they have to include in the service design process to enhance customer experience.

2. Customer journey map

A customer journey map is a UX design tool that gives businesses a 360-degree view of their customers. It serves as a platform for visually illustrating customers' needs and pain points, which, in turn, can be used to relay opportunities for the business.

The design team can create a customer journey map by picking a persona and mapping out the vital steps that a customer would have to take to complete their journey. For instance, if a customer is in the purchase stage, their next important step would be to complete the payment. At this stage, you would have to ensure that the customer has a seamless experience to make the payment — this could be online, or in-store, or via QR codes.

So the key takeaway here is that you need to create interactive experiences across each of the various customer journey phases to better engage each of your target customers.

3. Hyper-personalization

Advanced technology such as artificial intelligence can help improve hyper-personalization in marketing, product recommendations, and shopping experiences. With AI-driven consumer data analysis, both brick-and-mortar and ecommerce stores can deliver personalized end-user experiences on all touchpoints.

For instance, luxury brands like Gucci use AI that enables their salespeople to recognize customers, greet them by their name, and offer personalized product recommendations based on their past purchase history and preferences ( ClickZ ).

Another appealing example is Guerlain's approach of using 3D configurators to enable hyper-personalized online experiences for its customers.

On Guerlain's ecommerce site, customers can use simulation to visualize the thickness, reflection, and refraction of their perfume bottles. Customers can even see the interactions between the color of the bottle and that of the perfume.

If customers choose to customize their perfume bottles, Guerlain has simulations for that as well. Customers can also get their unique text engraved on their bottles. Once customers have their design ready, they can click a picture and share it on social media.

All this technology put together empowers Guerlain to deliver a hyper-personalized customer experience.

4. Immersive customer experiences

As technology advances rapidly, luxury retail should adapt. And immersive customer experiences, powered by AI and facial recognition, can transform in-store, ecommerce, and omnichannel shopping.

A Ralph-Lauren store in New York gives its in-store customers an immersive user experience. It leverages interactive mirrors with which customers can virtually try different variations of clothing and browse through the real-time store inventory ( Business Insider ).

Baume, an ecommerce luxury watch retailer, uses a 3D watch configurator to allow customers to customize their timepieces. With photorealism, customers can visualize the best 3D model of their customized wristwatches.

Omnichannel refers to the integration of online shopping with in-store shopping. And the opportunities are endless to create an immersive omnichannel CX design.

For instance, the Nike Innovation Store has a mobile app customization studio and instant check-outs for users to order their shoes online. Then, customers can go to the store where they’re able to try it on and then scan a code to complete their purchase ( PostFunnel ).

This philosophy of reserving products online and trying them out in-store before buying is another way to deliver interactive customer experiences.

5. Customer feedback

Luxury brands must get honest customer feedback regarding products, services, sales assistants' performance, in-store environment, and the overall experience.

If you operate a brick-and-mortar luxury store, consider asking for feedback while customers make their payment. To collect the customer feedback for your ecommerce stores, ask the shopper to record their Net Promoter Score (NPS) with a survey after checkout, or use a follow-up email to ask for feedback.

These tactics create data-back insights that your experience designer can use to measure how successful you are in delighting your customer base.

How are top luxury brands delivering great CX designs?

Keeping in mind the various ways to render substantial customer experiences for your in-store and digital products from the above section, let's take a look at how one high-end brand, Puma, is leveraging CX design.

Irrespective of whether you are a startup or an established luxury brand, this example can inspire you to start your design thinking.

Puma is a luxury merchandising brand that uses Hapticmedia for its CX designs. It revolutionizes customer experiences with real-time shaders, ultra customization, and 3D scanning and optimization.

Customers can head to Puma's eCommerce site and choose the sports merchandise they want to design. They can then personalize it by choosing a color of their choice, positioning the Puma logo wherever they want, and adding custom text.

Get started with customer experience design

Image credit: Guerlain

To create great customer experience design, you need to always be empathetic to your customers and design their experiences based on their buying journeys. Leverage advanced technology to drive innovative experiences, and ask for customer feedback to understand what works and what doesn't.

Like Puma, you can leverage Apviz's customer experience tools — including 3D configurators, product showcasing, virtual try-on, and more — to start creating impeccable CX design.

By Yahong Zhang - Sun May 02 2021

Stay informed

Discover more articles.

17 e-commerce trends to leverage for higher sales

From augmented reality to omnichannel marketing and remote services, e-commerce trends are adjusting to give customers the best possible experiences....

Cosmetics industry trends and marketing techniques

The cosmetics industry, also known as the beauty industry, includes fragrances, skin, hair and personal care and color cosmetics like facial make up products, nail care products, lip care products, and eye make-up products....

3D product visualization and made to order, a strategy for success?

This article explores the impact of a 3D configurator dedicated to custom manufacturing companies, which revolutionizes your business by offering an immersive and innovative customer journey. It enables customers to visualize products before they are...

Unity Marketing

Luxury market expert | pam danziger.

Call (717) 572-9979 or Email to consult Pam

Luxury Brands’ Marketing And Sales Must Collaborate To Propel Customers On Their Purchase Journey

Affluent and high-net-worth individuals, the most discerning and empowered consumers on the planet, use luxury retailers’ digital footprint as the roadmap on their customer journey . Typically marketing is responsible for dropping the “bread crumbs” and sales complete their journey.

But the digital economy has altered those dynamics, disrupting the traditional marketing and sales funnel stages. Sharing real-time customer data across both functions at each step in the customer journey is required to move the customer along to complete their journey.

However, a new study by Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council , in partnership with KPMG, found 60% of marketers said marketing and sales don’t co-own customer strategy and data, with one-fourth saying critical customer data is still held in silos by marketing and sales.

The result is that 70% of CMOs lack confidence in their current sales and marketing models. “Most sales and marketing organizations haven’t been able to pivot fast enough to the new digital buyer,” is the conclusion of the CMO Council report, “Sales & Marketing: Driving Revenue Through Collaboration,” based on research with 300+ CMOs.

Because the customer journey is increasingly digitalized, whether transactions are made online or in-store, it’s essential for brands to adapt their strategies to engage and sell to affluent customers effectively.

Calling on companies to find new ways for marketing and sales to collaborate across customer strategy, data and metrics, the report highlights the significance of transforming the marketing-sales relationship, driven by a shared understanding of customer insights derived from data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

The findings are clear for luxury brands: To address the challenges posed by digitally savvy customers, luxury retail brands must focus on aligning their sales and marketing teams to ensure a seamless and customer-centric purchasing process.

Meeting Affluent Customers’ Needs and Expectations Presents Special Challenges

This new digital age presents unique challenges and opportunities for premium and luxury brands. By 2030, about one-third of all personal luxury goods sales will be made online, up from 21 percent in 2022, according to Bain. And that’s not even counting the share of sales that start online and are concluded in-store or by phone.

As we move deeper into the digital age, there is no denying that consumers are becoming increasingly self-reliant. With a world of information at their fingertips, buyers now have the tools to evaluate and select products without the need for intensive sales pitches or in-store experiences. In this rapidly evolving landscape, premium and luxury retail brands must continue to captivate consumers and drive revenue growth.

The mindset shift required for successful collaboration between sales and marketing can have profound effects on premium and luxury brands in the retail sector. By placing the customer at the center of their sales and marketing strategies, these brands can create more engaging and personalized experiences that resonate with today’s discerning consumers. This, in turn, can lead to increased brand loyalty, improved lead generation, and ultimately, higher revenues.

Accepting the Challenge

Premium and luxury brands are poised to excel in the new era of digitalized customer journeys if they prioritize collaboration between marketing and sales with data as the connective tissue.

Take Tiffany & Co., for example. The iconic jewelry brand underwent a digital transformation that involved revamping its website, social media accounts, and advertising campaigns to better reflect its target audience’s preferences.

This included collaborating with influencers on Instagram and working closely with its sales team to foster a more cohesive brand image. As a result, Tiffany & Co. saw a considerable increase in engagement and sales, demonstrating the power of sales and marketing alignment.

Similarly, Burberry has focused on integrating data and technology into its sales and marketing strategy in recent years. The luxury fashion brand leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze customer behavior and preferences, enabling it to deliver tailored promotions and experiences across digital and in-store touchpoints.

By aligning their sales and marketing teams around customer data, Burberry has successfully embraced the digital era and maintained its status as a leading luxury brand.

Tapping the Power of Sales and Marketing Collaboration

Sales and marketing collaboration can be a game-changer for luxury retail brands. Here’s what’s needed:

1. Embrace a customer-centric approach : Luxury buyers value personalized experiences and seamless transactions, without compromising on quality or service. Therefore, it’s crucial for premium brands to focus on understanding their customers’ preferences and offer tailored products, services, and experiences across various digital channels.

2. Reinvent the sales and marketing relationship : The traditional way of working has proven ineffective in the digital landscape. Sales and marketing teams must redefine their roles and responsibilities, collaborate on achieving business objectives such as revenue, customer acquisition, and market share, and share relevant information to devise effective customer acquisition and retention strategies.

3. Develop shared goals and KPIs: Aligning marketing and sales on shared key performance indicators (KPIs) can facilitate smooth communication and ensure both teams work towards common objectives. For luxury brands, these KPIs should include customer satisfaction, brand reputation, and customer lifetime value.

4. Leverage technology to enhance decision making : The use of fragmented technology across marketing, sales, and service has hindered better sales-marketing alignment, with 61% of marketers agreeing on this issue. It’s essential for premium brands to invest in integrated technologies that support data-driven decisions, improve customer experiences, and facilitate effective communication between marketing and sales teams.

5. Optimize touchpoints throughout the customer journey : Luxury brands must analyze and refine all customer touchpoints – from discovery through purchase and post-purchase interactions. By optimizing these touchpoints, luxury brands ensure a seamless, convenient, and enjoyable experience for buyers, which is crucial to build lasting relationships.

In an era where consumers are increasingly resourceful and selective, luxury retail brands must prioritize collaboration between their sales and marketing teams to remain competitive. By fostering a customer-centric approach and leveraging the power of shared data insights, these brands can create more personalized and engaging experiences that resonate with today’s discerning buyers. In turn, this can drive long-term loyalty and continued growth, securing the future success of premium and luxury retail brands in the digital age.

The Affluent Consumer Research Company can help you discover the key to unlocking your luxury brand’s full potential – Get a complimentary consultation with our affluent consumer research experts today. Let’s explore how our data-driven insights and cutting-edge digital marketing solutions can elevate your brand’s customer engagement, relevance, and success in the competitive luxury market. Book your consultation now .

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Learn About Pam

Speaker, author, and market researcher Pamela N. Danziger is internationally recognized for her expertise on the world’s most influential consumers: the American Affluent. As founder of Unity Marketing, Pam leads with research to provide brands with actionable insights into the minds of their most profitable customers.

• Speaking & Workshops
• White Papers
• Books by Pamela N. Danziger
• Media Center
• Research Reports

Join Our Free Email Newsletters!

Enter your email address below to keep NEWS YOU CAN USE coming.

• Comments This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Luxe Digital

Conscious, elevated living.

• Men's style
• Women's style
• Buying guides
• Stricking superlatives
• Publishing principles
• In the press

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Receive our finest finds, exclusive deals, and luxury news to stay in the know.

The Digital Journey Of The Affluent Luxury Traveller

There are four critical moments when luxury travel brands need to engage their affluent travellers online.

by Florine Eppe Beauloye Updated on November 23, 2022

At Luxe Digital, we test and recommend products that we think you will love. If you buy something, we might earn a commission . This supports our team at no extra cost for you.

The Opportunity

• Most affluent travelers research, plan, and book their trips online. The online customer journey offers luxury travel brands new opportunities to engage their consumers across devices and channels.
• Digital inspires affluent tourists to explore new locations and experience different types of vacations.
• The demand from affluent Millennial travelers for personalized and authentic experiences creates new venues of growth for the high-end luxury travel industry.

The Problem

• The once linear travel customer journey is being replaced by intent-driven micro-moments, resulting in a complex booking process.
• Affluent travelers expect more out of their trips: they want stories of unique experiences and envy-inducing sharable photos of their trip. Real-time interactions such as location check-ins and status updates require luxury travel brands to leverage social media channels in innovative new ways.
• Millennial travelers prefer to plan and book their vacations online, increasingly using their mobile devices. They want personalized content that is relevant to their preferences, but luxury travel brands are struggling to keep up.

The Solution

• To reach and influence travelers, luxury travel brands must take an omnichannel approach to customer experience and provide relevant content throughout the travel journey online.
• Social media and user-generated content are an essential part of marketing to the modern affluent travelers. By leveraging the millions of authentic travel photos and stories that people post online every day, luxury travel brands can create engaging digital experiences that move travelers along the path to purchase.

We’ve previously explored in detail the digital transformation of the luxury retail industry . Today, we are looking at another industry that is being heavily reshaped by digital: luxury travel and hospitality.

This report explores how digital and new technologies are redefining the travel and hospitality industry across the entire travel journey. Social media and mobile, in particular, are profoundly influencing the purchase decisions of modern affluent travelers. High-end travel brands and luxury hotels need to understand how these new developments are shaping their consumers’ decision process.

Taking inspiration from a study by Google on consumers’ online behaviors in the travel and hospitality industry, we will organize this report into four essential phases. [1] It is critical for luxury travel brands to be present throughout each of these four phases if they want to positively influence their customers’ decisions .

There are four essential travel phases that matter in the customer journey:

• Dreaming phase: I-want-to-get-away moments
• Planning phase: Time-to-make-a-plan moments
• Booking phase: Let’s-book-it moments
• Experiencing and sharing phase: Can’t-wait-to-explore moments

We will explore in greater detail each of these four critical phases to discover how luxury travel and hospitality brands can influence their customers’ decisions. We will then take a closer look at the growing importance of mobile experiences throughout the travel experience journey before concluding this report with specific recommendations for luxury brands.

1. Dreaming phase: Digital inspires affluent travelers to explore new destinations and discover new travel experiences

If you’ve ever spent hours scrolling through the feeds of your favorite travel influencers on Instagram or other online platforms, you’re not alone. There are over 287 million posts on Instagram alone using the hashtag #travel, which underlines the popularity of the topic on social media.

The Internet, online visual content, and social media, in particular, provide a seemingly infinite source of picture-perfect snaps of the world’s most desirable travel hotspots and are influencing how people dream about their next holiday destination.

The experience that a travel brand can provide online, before travelers even decide where they will be going, is thus crucial.

Social media has become an essential resource for travel seekers. As a result, high-end travel brands and luxury hotels have increased their social media budgets, both in the form of content marketing and paid advertising.

The sheer amount of travel-related content that is now available to holiday seekers online is staggering. The challenge for marketers is, therefore, to break through the clutter and engage with their most relevant target audience.

Social content influences consumers’ travel decisions more than traditional advertising. During the initial dreaming phase of the journey, holiday seekers turn to social media to find inspiration for their next travel destinations and compare options from a variety of online sources.

Over 40% of travellers say they bounce back and forth between dreaming about and planning their next trip—zooming in on the details for one destination and then zooming out to reconsider all the options again. Think with Google

On average, 43 days will pass between the decision to travel and the decision on where to go, according to the head of travel at Facebook, Christine Warner. These 43 days will be spent scrolling through social media feeds and reading recommendations from friends and trusted influencers. Travel website Expedia found indeed that over half of travelers are open to help and ideas on destinations. This is particularly true for Chinese travelers, of which 82% will seek recommendations from other people online. They are followed closely behind by American travelers (72%).

Furthermore, a study by ComScore found that 73% of first travel searches worldwide had no mention of a brand or destination. [2] Travelers are thus actively looking online for ideas and suggestions on where to go for their vacations.

That indecision presents a significant opportunity for luxury travel and hospitality brands to inspire affluent travelers with quality destination content . At this early stage in the travel journey, travel seekers want brands to provide content to help narrow down their choices.

Instagram is one of the most popular places to fuel your wanderlust, especially since “Instagrammability” is now an important factor in choosing a holiday destination. A study from Hotels.com revealed a new trend of ‘travel bragging’ on social media among Millennials . [3] One in eight Millennials admits to picking their next destination and hotel based on how Instagrammable it is.

Marina Bay Sands in Singapore is the world’s most Instagrammed hotel

Instagram’s 2017 Year In Review revealed the most popular hotels in the world and the most shared moments across the #travel world.

Singapore’s iconic Marina Bay Sands (MBS) topped the list for the world’s most Instagrammed hotel; a recognition that they prominently communicate on their Instagram account.

One of the definitive icons of Singapore’s skyline, Marina Bay Sands is home to a breathtaking infinity pool at 57 storeys high overlooking Singapore’s Central Business District which makes for the perfect backdrop for social media posts — #nofilter needed. Over a million photos have been posted to Instagram from the SkyPark by guests, celebrities, media and influencers alike.

A selfie from the MBS’s poolside is a “bucket list” item for affluent Chinese visitors to Singapore. Read our report on how luxury brands attract the affluent Chinese tourists to understand the travel habits of these high spenders.

The top 10 most Instagrammed hotels in the world:

• Marina Bay Sands (Singapore)
• Bellagio (Las Vegas, USA)
• The Venetian (Las Vegas, USA)
• Atlantis The Palm (Dubai, UAE)
• MGM Grand (Las Vegas, USA)
• The Cosmopolitan (Las Vegas, USA)
• Wynn (Las Vegas, USA)
• Caesars Palace (Las Vegas, USA)
• Fontainebleau (Miami Beach, USA)
• Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino (Las Vegas, USA)

2. Planning phase: Digital eases travel planning, and mobile boosts planning activities on the go

Beyond providing travel inspiration, online resources play a strategic role in trip planning, most notably with younger affluent generations. This trend hints at the increased role social media will play as a travel planning tool for wealthy Generation Z travelers.

During the planning phase, travel planners compare pricing and read reviews and recommendations to decide where to stay and which activities to do. They will often seek validation of their choices across various social media platforms and online communities.

Research conducted by Nielsen for Google found that travelers spent an average of 53 days visiting 28 different websites to plan their vacations. [4] More than 50% of them will heavily use social media during that travel planning phase.

Interestingly, digital has also led to travelers increasingly making last-minute plans from their mobile phones. Travel-related searches for “tonight” and “today” among hotel and air queries have grown drastically on mobile between 2014 and 2017. [5]

In the planning phase, OTAs and search engines are the most used resources, with 51% of all global travelers using them regularly to find travel information and compare prices. Hotels and airlines websites, on the other hand, are only used by 30% of travelers planning their trips, according to Expedia Media Solutions.

Travel review sites are also key resources used for planning trips. According to Huffington Post, over 95% of leisure travelers read at least seven reviews before booking their holidays. [6]

It is important to note that many travel review sites contain user-generated content (UGC), often seen as more authentic by readers. It is thus essential for high-end travel companies and luxury brands to promote positive UGC and proactively manage negative reviews.

Bringing social media and online UGC to the physical world

In October 2017, Scotland’s National Tourism Board brought social media and UGC to the offline world with the launch of the #ScotSpirit Instagram Travel Agency.

The temporary, pop-up travel agency displayed floor-to-ceiling digital screens showcasing real travelers’ Instagram photos from across Scotland to inspire potential travelers. A travel agent then uses the selected images to curate the perfect Scottish holiday itinerary.

3. Booking phase: Travellers expect a seamless and frictionless booking process across devices

Affluent travelers expect to be able to instantly book their flights and hotels on the device that they want at the very moment they need it. As a result, a consistent user experience across all devices is essential for luxury travel booking.

A Google study found that price, but also the search functionality and easiness of the booking process are key features that will impact the booking of a travel experience. When it comes to mobile bookings in particular, travelers expect simple checkouts with a single-screen experience, large text entry boxes, and a secure online payment gateway.

While desktop remains the primary booking platform for most travelers, 80% of the last-minute hotel bookings are now made on mobile devices. [7]

Younger generations are also driving mobile bookings. Google found that two-thirds of Millennial travelers are comfortable booking an entire trip on a smartphone, compared to only one-third of the older generation travelers. Social media is also starting to play a critical role in the booking process. In May 2018, Instagram announced new action buttons on business profiles that allow users to “book,” “get tickets,” “reserve,” or “start order”—all within the app. [8]

4. Experiencing and sharing phase: Seamless and shareable experiences are must-have amenities for affluent travelers

Mobile and social media enable luxury travel and hospitality marketers to engage with their guests in real-time and on-property in new innovative ways.

Once guests check in their flights or arrive at their destination, they would often post photos online and share travel experiences with family, friends, and followers on social media. Expedia found indeed that the average vacationer spends nine hours of a one-week-long trip browsing social media.

This is another critical opportunity for luxury brands to reach and interact with their affluent customers. Big data , in particular, can provide the necessary tools for marketers to engage in a meaningful and personalized way with their most valuable guests.

We need to be operating at the level of Google. Joe Leader, chief executive of the Airline Passenger Experience Association

“ For every passenger, we know every detail that serves as a marketing treasure trove of personalization, ” explained Joe Leader, chief executive of the Airline Passenger Experience Association, in a report ahead of this year’s Aviation Festival. “ We have full names, addresses, exact birthdays, seat assignments, credit cards, and everything that should make personalization easy. [9] ”

Delta Airlines, for example, is asking its flight attendants to engage in every flight with at least five passengers who are members of their SkyMiles loyalty program.

“ You want to feel valued, ” said Allison Ausband, Senior Vice-President of in-flight service to the Financial Times. [9] “ We are getting thank-you notes from customers for acknowledging them on the airplane. Whether apologizing for delays or acknowledging their [loyalty program] status, we make them feel that they are that valued customer. ”

A great example of the extra mile the Delta flight attendants are ready to go to delight their passengers took place last year when a passenger who was flying to an interview spilled a drink on himself. The airline informed their ground staff before landing and had a new clean shirt waiting for the passenger after he landed.

W Hotel: the impact of user-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) from guests isn’t just a source of travel inspiration. Luxury travel brands are now leveraging this organic and authentic social content to fuel every stage of the traveller’s path to purchase.

W Hotel Sentosa is a particularly great example of a luxury hotel that is successfully leveraging UGC. The very same day I posted about my time at W Singapore on my Instagram account, someone from their social media team proactively engaged with me, asking permission to repost my photos on their official social media accounts.

Mobile is the essential travel partner before and during a luxury travel experience

More than ever before, travelers increasingly rely on their smartphones for travel-related activities throughout the entire travel journey – younger generations even more so. In fact, Generation Z tourists are four times more likely to use a smartphone for inspiration, research, or booking travel than baby boomers, according to Expedia.

With mobile devices poised to account for 79% of all internet users in 2018 globally, [10] a mobile-first strategy is becoming a requirement for all luxury travel brands.

There is a significant opportunity for travel and hospitality marketers to influence travel-related decisions on mobile — by focusing their attention on mobile-friendly services, ranking in search results to answer travel queries, and being present during all the key travel micro-moments.

Before the trip: Mobile as an insightful travel guide

There are already more searches on mobile than desktop for travel categories such as family vacations and luxury travel.

Recent Google data have shown that in certain countries, half of all consumers are comfortable researching, booking, and planning an entire travel experience on a mobile device. [11]

During the trip: Mobile as an instantly responsive 24/7 travel concierge

Mobile devices give travelers increased flexibility to plan vacation activities on the go, while in destination. Mobile devices have become indispensable travel companions for modern affluent travelers, from managing itineraries to checking in and looking for what to do and where to eat.

Conrad Hotels: Instagram Butlers and picture-perfect luxury travel moments

The luxury resort The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort introduced in October 2017 their Instagram butlers described as “knowledgeable team members helping guests to discover the most picturesque locations”.

The dedicated Instagram Butlers bring guests on their #InstaTrail to the most Insta-worthy spots, including of course the famous (and highly photogenic) all-glass underwater restaurant Ithaa.

The Instagram Butlers also teach guests how to perfect that dream shot by offering advice such as the optimum time of day (including, obviously, the “golden hour” right after sunrise or before sunset) and the best camera angles to use.

The luxury resort also offers 1, 3, and 5-hour curated experiences through its global ‘Stay Inspired’ programme. This initiative “overhauls the way the brand trains its team members as storytellers of their destinations”.

Conrad hotels even have a Social Media Influencer Request form on their website, where digital influencers can submit their information and receive accommodation incentives.

Travelers expect seamless and instantaneous mobile experiences before, during, and after their travel. Indeed, when it comes to mobile experiences, speed matters. In fact, over 90% of travelers using mobile devices will switch to another site or app if their needs are not being met fast enough.

The travel sector has room for improvement in that regard. The average time it takes to fully load a mobile landing page for a hotel or airline is 6.7 seconds in the UK, 6 seconds in the USA, 5.6 seconds in Japan, and 4.8 seconds in Germany. With 53% of mobile users leaving a page that takes longer than three seconds to load, improving the mobile experience should be a priority for the industry.

Smartphones already allow hotel guests to unlock their rooms, share real-time vacation photos on social media or pay on the go with a mobile wallet. The ubiquity of smartphones, combined with the potential of new technology trends and innovations such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud-based data, voice recognition, and more, is set to revolutionize the luxury travel industry in unprecedented ways.

This convergence into a singular mobile experience will allow luxury travel brands to move beyond reactive customer service to actually predict travelers’ needs and solve problems in real time, sometimes even before travelers know that they have an issue.

In conclusion: luxury travel brands need to go beyond the classic route

The digital journey of the affluent traveler promises many more adventures.

Predictive mobile services will gain momentum as affluent travelers increasingly expect luxury travel brands to understand their individual preferences to anticipate their travel needs and solve their problems in real-time or in advance.

For 72% of travelers with smartphones researching on mobile, their individual needs are more important than their loyalty to a specific brand. To win the hearts and minds of affluent travelers, it is thus critical for luxury travel brands to provide the most relevant information across all touchpoints at all the moments that matter:

• Identify the micro-moments for travelers that fit your business and be there to help.
• Be useful and valuable by solving each person’s needs across all travel moments.

With a majority of travelers, especially Millennials and Generation Z consumers, preferring travel experiences over material goods, the luxury travel and hospitality industry is poised to grow.

But as more travelers favor integrated travel resources and booking platforms, luxury travel brands will have to find new ways to be relevant and engage with their consumers.

Winning luxury travel brands will be the ones embracing mobile, big data, and innovative technologies to accompany affluent travelers through their entire customer journey. Off the beaten path.

• Travel Micro-Moments Guide: How to Be There and Be Useful for Travelers , Think With Google, July 2016.
• Worldwide Travel Path to Purchase 2017. Analysis Based on April – September 2017 Data Periods , comScore for TripAdvisor, April 2018.
• Hotels.com identifies new millennial Travel Brag trend: The “BRAGTAG” overtakes the humble HASHTAG as travel becomes the new social currency for millennials , Hotels.com, December 19, 2017.
• Travellers Overwhelmed as Funnel Becomes Pretzel , by Martin Kelly, Travel Trends, November 2014.
• Micro-Moments Now: Why expectations for ‘right now’ are on the rise , by Lisa Gevelber, Think With Google, August 2017.
• Digital Trends That Are Transforming the Travel Industry in 2017 , by Penny Harris, Huffington Post, March 2017.
• Travel Flash Report , Criteo, 2018.
• Making it easier to do business on Instagram , by Instagram Business team, Instagram Blog, May 2018.
• How airlines aim to use big data to boost profits , by Camilla Hodgson and Patti Waldmeir, The Financial Times, May 8 2018.
• 15 Mind-Blowing Stats About Mobile , by Giselle Abramovich, CMO.com, February 6, 2018.
• How smartphones influence the entire travel journey in the U.S. and abroad , Think With Google, February 2018.

About the author

Florine Eppe Beauloye

Founder & editor in chief.

Florine Eppe is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Luxe Digital , and her achievements read like a book (she coincidentally wrote an actual book ).She is the definition of the modern-day multi-hyphenate—an award-winning digital entrepreneur, international speaker, praised author, and accomplished luxury marketer with a history of working with some of the industry’s finest names. She has appeared on stages across the world, and her insights in Forbes, The Financial Times, Harvard Business School’s academic papers, and more.

Learn more about Florine Eppe Beauloye

The 15 Most Popular Luxury Brands Online

Luxe Digital Titans—Personal luxury goods edition.

Dubai’s Private Members’ Clubs Are Rising—Just Like The City’s Skyline

Standing Tall: Oakywood Adjustable Desk Doesn’t Sit Still

Koio Capri Review: Minimalist Sneakers Beyond Sustainability

The 7 Best Sneakers For Men: Master The Casual Look

Best Italian Car Brands: Power, Passion And Perfection

Randolph Sunglasses Review: From Fighter Jets to Fashion-Forward

The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman: Reset, Renew, Reconnect With The Eco Chic Retreat

Mejuri Jewelry Review: Stylish, Stackable, Sustainable

Hot Off The Grill: Three Cuts Steakhouse Dubai Review

Proudly inspiring millions of readers like you .

Your Conscious,

Elevated Life

Starts Here.

• Striking superlatives

Find anything you save across the site in your account

Make better business decisions

Sign up to our newsletter for a truly global perspective on the fashion industry

Enter your email to receive editorial updates, special offers and breaking news alerts from Vogue Business . You can unsubscribe at any time. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

What the new customer loyalty looks like

To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here .

Are customer loyalty programmes fit for purpose? For luxury companies seeking a competitive edge in a post-pandemic world, that’s become a pressing question.

Through customer loyalty programmes, luxury brands have an opportunity to gather important data about their customers. This has become more significant now that big tech platforms like Apple and Google and browsers like Firefox are blocking third-party cookies. “Privacy is a huge problem. Retailers give their loyalty programmes a fancy name, but at the end of the day, it’s a way to navigate the seas of GDPR and other regulatory influences and a mechanism to get consumer consent to interact with them,” says Ludwig Voll, partner at EY Parthenon, E&Y’s global strategy consulting arm.

Many luxury fashion brands do not offer loyalty programmes, although they may reward their highest spending customers with invitations to fashion shows and a dedicated concierge service. “It’s a very top-down approach and for years that has been limited to a very small group of people,” says Olivier Vigneaux, chief executive at BETC FullSix, a digital agency within the Havas Group network, with clients including Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Rimowa.

In a digitised world, brands recognise they need to step up. “You need a minimum of first-party data to know who all your clients are, and you’ll need to nurture a relationship with them whether it’s through content, services or surprises. That is going to become almost compulsory,” says Vigneaux. “When you think of Airbnb or Uber, they’ve not just sold a product but a caring journey. Luxury can learn to do the same. It’s not enough to keep on selling expensive handbags and shoes.”

Offering an experience

Loyalty programmes are typically associated with points-based tiers. The more customers buy, the more rewards they earn. They redeem points for discounts, cashback or free products. But that is not the game luxury brands are in. “In luxury, it’s about creating intimacy with customers and building brand ambassadors,” says E&Y’s Voll. “You don’t get there by pushing promotions.”

Broader thinking, with an emphasis on experience, is on the agenda. In April, The North Face relaunched its loyalty programme as XPLR Pass. “We wanted to create greater value to explorers and give them access to the best of the brand, which we didn’t feel like the old programme fully delivered on,” says The North Face’s senior director of brand marketing Bethany Evans, who oversees the loyalty programmes.

The biggest shift was making the interaction between brand and customer more experiential, says The North Face’s Evans. While customers can still accumulate points from purchases, there are other ways to earn points too, such as visiting specific points in national parks. “We thought about our tagline ‘never stop exploring’ and felt that we needed a loyalty programme that delivered on that promise. So if you have the TNF mobile app and you go to the Rocky Mountain National Park, for example, you can check in via the app and get points for that.”

Clothing also plays a part. The North Face learned that its top customers wanted the ability to try out gear, so one of XPLR Pass’s new benefits is a field testing programme. Members who purchase new clothing can test it and return the product if it doesn’t perform, fit or look as expected. “It helps take some of that anxiety away around a big purchase, especially if someone is trying out a new activity for the first time,” says Evans.

US luxury department store group Neiman Marcus operates an InCircle programme that counts hundreds of thousands of members, who represent “a very significant part” of revenues, says David Goubert, president and chief customer officer of the Neiman Marcus Group. Besides free shippings or alterations, members can now redeem rewards such as dinner in one of the group’s restaurants or use concierge services to secure same-day tickets for a sporting event.

More social interactions

Brands are also more focused on fostering social interaction. Lacoste is considering creating rewards for customers based on their engagement with the brand; members might typically earn points by sharing advice on how to style a look with a Lacoste product. The number of points earned could be linked to how many other members of the community are inspired, says BETC’s Vigneaux. “Creating content and interacting within the programme will be encouraged, which is new because luxury used to be very top-down. That’s going to really change the spirit of the community.”

The North Face's XPLR Pass encourages members to travel, explore and interact with the brand.

Customer conversations are also important for The North Face. XPLR Pass members can provide feedback on unreleased designs, from the colour palette to the design and style, and also have first access to buy new products. “They get to be part of the whole process and see the products come to life. We see our members as partners, not customers, so the insights they provide can really help shape the future of The North Face,” says Evans. The North Face also tries to keep things unpredictable, and will sometimes send out surprise gift cards to community members talking about the brand on social media.

Value-based loyalty programmes to connect with customers on a deeper level are also emerging. These might involve donating a percentage to charity or welfare programmes, or giving back to the community in some way. Sephora, for example, has raised more than $2 million to date via a new charity rewards programme aimed at making it easier for customers to support organisations.

Social impact matters: 56 per cent of consumers are more likely to buy from companies that ensure what they do has a positive impact on society, while 38 per cent will buy more from organisations that benefit society, even if their products or services are more expensive, according to the EY Future Consumer Index .

Paid loyalty

Some brands are experimenting with paid membership models that give customers immediate benefits for a participation fee. Paid programmes may enlist fewer members, but a company can garner higher customer value out of those who join: 62 per cent of consumers are more likely to spend more on a brand after joining a paid loyalty programme, according to data compiled by McKinsey in 2020.

Amazon paved the way for premium loyalty in 2005 with its Prime programme, which offers an abundance of benefits including free next-day shipping, unlimited video streaming and free monthly e-books. There are more than 150 million global Prime members today.

Zalando ditched a points-based loyalty programme in 2018 and launched its Plus programme, which charges members €15 annually for faster shipping and priority treatment. “We were thinking about the customer’s entire journey and their biggest needs, and one of the things that came up was scarcity, because sometimes a product isn’t shipped in time or the collections are limited. So we’re prioritising access for paying customers,” says Lisa Schöner, director of Zalando Plus.

Zalando Plus members get early access to exclusive collections, such as Puma's collaboration with fitness influencer Pamela Reif.

Charging shoppers enables Zalando to reinvest in the customer experience, she says. “We observed from the past that especially during times when there is more pressure on our logistics network, such as Cyber Week or Christmas, the benefit was hugely appreciated by our customers, because they know that they can trust us.”

This May, Zalando has introduced a new benefit: early access to new collections and hot releases, such as Puma’s new collaboration with German fitness influencer Pamela Reif. “We’re offering customers a compelling reason to visit us more, and we’re also giving brand partners the opportunity to showcase their collections in a more elevated way, because the customer journey allows for more storytelling,” says Schöner.

Zalando has more than half a million users on its programme, and this year scored an average 10 points higher on its Net Promoter Score (NPS) with members compared to non-members. Members also shop twice as often as regular customers and spend three times more on the platform.

Membership programmes don’t suit all brands, however. “The question is whether it’s a service worth subscribing because it only makes sense for products that you buy regularly, like creams and other beauty products,” says Vigneaux, injecting a note of caution. “I’m not sure that it’s compatible with luxury.”

Hurdles and priorities

One of the biggest challenges is making loyalty programmes available to members globally, who may have varying preferences and habits, says The North Face’s Evans. “Because we launched a new visual identity and name, we also had to come up with branding that could be trademarked in all the regions we operate in, which added another layer of complexity.”

Loyalty programmes are often separate initiatives, managed independently and within their own channels, instead of being properly integrated within brands’ operational policies. Neiman Marcus’s reward programme InCircle aims to avoid that, focusing on omnichannel engagement. From supporting app-based experiences and store-specific campaigns to customer service via sales associates in-store and virtually, the retailer aims to create a unified customer profile, says Goubert.

A May 2019 eMarketer study found that only 3 per cent of marketers claim to have all channels integrated to provide a cohesive, personalised experience from one channel to the next. Brands must question how they structure their customer data and whether it’s available and easy to access in all countries, explains Vigneaux. “I can tell you that this is genuinely a mess and only a few companies have managed to align their tools globally.”

Brands should also explore different ways to build loyalty beyond a programme, experts say. Gucci’s introduction of gaming within its app in 2019 is an example of a modern way to approach loyalty, says Vigneaux. “You’re entering the universe of the brand. The content that is provided is fun and engaging and a customer may decide it’s worth spending more time with the brand, ultimately leading to a purchase.”

Retaining customer attention is tough in the era of Netflix and Disney Plus, with brands competing for attention with the entertainment sector. The goal is to make the customer feel a strong affinity with the brand. “Relevance is the new currency for loyalty,” says Voll of EY Parthenon. “That should be the guiding star for brands.”

Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected] .

More from this author:

From New York to Paris, in-person fashion shows are back

Are branded virtual worlds the new marketing terrain?

New-era AR, VR pop-ups: Enough to lure consumers in?

Experiential Retailing & Luxury Customer Journey

Dive into a realm where immersive experiences meet premium brand journeys with 360andplus. In today’s rapidly evolving retail landscape, we’re at the forefront of crafting retail narratives that not only entice but elevate. Welcome to the future of experiential retailing and luxury customer journey.

Why Choose 360andplus for LCJ? Pioneers of Experience: At the heart of our approach lies the quest for innovation. We’re not just chasing trends; we’re setting them. Tailored Journeys : Recognizing the unique essence of each brand, we craft experiences that are authentic, resonating, and memorable. Exclusivity & Elegance : In the world of luxury customer journeys, we deliver sophistication, ensuring that every interaction exudes exclusivity.

Exclusivity Amplified: Redefining the Luxury Experience in Every Detail!

Grow. build. retain.