Once upon a time the meaning of luxury was all around the aspiration value. However, with changing times, Luxury is no longer product centric. The new age consumers don’t just aspire to own the product but own the experience, the exclusivity and also the aura created around the product. In terms of retail, Luxury segment in India has gone very competitive and with the wide consumer base to tap, each brand needs to create a personalized experience and also engage the audience. It’s no longer appealing to all, but rather appeal to one seeking exclusivity. The Brand communication focusses on creating an aura, a personality which shall bring an aspirational appeal and not just an emotional one.
Gone are the days, when consumers would seek Luxury in-store only. The Traditional marketing did focus on building the best experiences only at instore retail level, however with the changing times, Consumer seeks luxury at multi-touch points which includes e-commerce Channels, Online or even Multi-brand stores. The way shoppers indulge with Luxury brings importance to ‘Digital experiences’ that now undoubtedly plays a very crucial role. It’s an exciting time for Brands as the revolution in technology and automation is enabling the ability to purchase through multiple channels and gain an increased knowledge of customers. “Today a purchase is more learned, tech driven from every aspect. Technology has overall raised the bar for customer experiences, in luxury retail. Technology and Luxury has become a disruptive combination in the Industry,” stated Anil Lala, Founder and Managing Director for Fanzart.
Making a note of this shift timely, Brands too have incorporated Tech Trends to their communication, matching the consumers at the same wavelength, creating compelling digital experiences.
Lala further adds, “Some noteworthy trends include; using apps for customer engagement, which not only enables brands to have more personalized approach but also lets them measure the Consumer engagement with an analytics system. Bridging the gap and ensuring stronger visibility, Brands can get the max value, to be more interactive and alluring. The next trend being Chatbots, which addresses the conversational marketing needs. The introduction of chatbots has allowed brands to begin engaging with consumers directly and proactively develop deeper relationships with their customers.”
Lastly, one of the most crucial aspects in Retail Luxury, is to create a Shopping experience like no other. It’s not about just the ease of buying the goods, the key takeaway is the personality of the product. It’s the luxurious experience that shall last forever. To match, the same, most brands are creating the best in class ambience inside the store for every reason, Be it Shopper Marketing, Augmented reality, Virtual reality, IOT Trends or the mobile apps, the end result is to leverage the meaning of Technology into the Marketing Planning and programs, capturing consumer preferences and needs.
“Luxury marketing has its own language. Technology opens up the door of the luxury brands to create these elements for their audiences in an omni-channel environment,” concluded Lala.
