Dandelion Chandelier recently conducted an analysis of 120 luxury brands, 40 each in the fashion, beauty and watch & jewelry categories. We wanted to understand how these brands are showing up online, and which ones are truly market leaders in this space. Here’s what we found.
It’s not headline news that the most venerable luxury brands across nearly every segment have been, to put it politely, fashionably late to the e-commerce party. The $1 trillion-plus global luxury sector has been slow to embrace online sales, and not without some good reasons.
It may be the ultimate in old-school publishing and fashion, and the last gasp of the media business as we have known it, but for me the arrival of the September issues of the big fashion magazines is still a thrilling moment. I still feel a jolt of excitement when I see them on the newsstand, as if a bell has just been rung and something wonderful is about to commence. Arriving long before the kids are actually back in school, and well before leather jacket weather, the September issues are one of my favorite harbingers of autumn.
The brick-and-mortar world of luxury is a truly delightful place – gorgeous stores and showrooms, discreet and informed sales people, and highly attentive service. Retail locations and their front windows are the best possible advertisements for these brands. Fashion and lifestyle magazines are also brilliant showcases for luxury brands. Their ads are part of the editorial for publications like Vogue, Elle and Town & Country, and readers actually look forward to seeing them because they’re so compelling.
Like any great relationship, our feelings about our favorite luxury brands usually start out in a blaze of passion, excitement and positive feelings. The first time I could afford a pair of Manolo Blanik shoes, I was almost as giddy as I was the day I met my best friend in college. The shoes were black patent leather high-heeled pumps, and they were so much fun, and so chic, that they made me feel that I was my best “me” whenever I put them on. Yes, shoe love can run deep.
