Digital engagement company ContactLab and Exane BNP Paribas have conducted a study into the spending habits of consumers that shop for luxury products online and in-store.
The study found that those that buy luxury products online and in-store spend around 50% more per year than those that only shop in-store. ContactLab noted that luxury brands still lag behind other brands in ecommerce because many are limited by their use of space and footfall in store. Moreover, many luxury brands are not successfully integrating online and offline selling opportunities such as the ability to order online and pick up in-store or return in-store when ordering online, which many non-luxury brands now offer.
Massimo Fubini, CEO of ContactLab, said: “It is surprising to see that not many luxury brands are optimising the relationships they can have with their customers. Luxury brands are faced with competition with online retailers and so need to up their game in order to take advantage of the online sphere.”
The study did highlight some luxury brands that its findings suggest are leading the way in omnichannel retail. Ralph Lauren, Bergdorf Goodman and Burberry were the top three ranking brands in ContactLabs’ study scoring highly in ContactLab’s store visit tests. Burberry is said to generate 15% of its online sales from click and collect. In contrast, at the bottom of the pack were Ferragamo, Saint Laurent and Céline.
Fubini added: “Modern consumers cannot be categorised as online or offline as they expect multi-channels as a paradigm to engage with a brand. Brands need to not run their online and in-store business activity as separate but need to bridge the gap and offer a seamless shopping experience.”
To generate the scores, ContactLab visited 61 stores in New York city, US and used a set of 21 parameters to measure digital and physical retail integration: in-store technology; how online shoppers are received in-store; and how the digital arena is used to make the most of traffic in-store.