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Luxury fashion brands rely on top spenders to buy highly expensive goods at any time. Which has been down since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. To find a solution of this, a recent webinar arranged by the Retail Marketing Society (RMS), Jane Gundell, President and Founder of Research and Marketing Consultancy Gundell and Company, and Faye Landes, President of Landes Advisors, shared a way out on how luxury brands can inspire their regular consumers to resume shopping again.
Faye Landes stated that lesser luxury brands will continue to be on the downward trend and must be cautious with their growth investments, particularly in subcategories that have not been performing well in the pandemic.
“I think a tough road lies ahead for small luxury brands because as an emerging brand, you still have the big conglomerates with lots of firepowers, so they’re going to support their brands,” Landes said.
“How are people going to find out about your brand? Think about all the ways they used to find out. They do not find out about them in stores now. There is no red carpet,” he adds.
The shift in consumer spending mindset is the key. Devoid of any social gatherings, people realize that they have enough goods already. The ‘need for new’ attitude is a thing of the past.
Landes highlighted a woman consumer, “It is abundantly clear to me that I do not need anything. Now I am more aware of it. I have not had a huge inclination to shop like I normally would.”
“It is abundantly clear to me that I do not need anything. Now I am more aware of it. I have not had a huge inclination to shop like I normally would.”
“I do not think the world will be the same. I do not think I will buy 12 glasses because I want 12 new glasses,” quotes Landes from another consumer.
This shows that people are making a conscious decision, he told.
Landes continues, “And again, money is not the issue here. This is a very rarified population…They talked about being discreet and not ostentatious, and about the appropriateness and the desire not to appear tone deaf-related to the enormous economic distress that many Americans were experiencing.”
The luxury retailers have no margin for error allowed to bring customers back. People are nervous with face masks and the disinfecting of goods and dressing rooms, many of which remain closed. Brands must provide the comfort zone so the people feel at ease to come back.
As more shoppers moving online, they are going to have to duplicate the luxury experience in ways such as delivering a strong chat function.
As consumers, in general, rely on vital retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target to stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, luxury retailers have to come up with the services that will offer easy buying for the consumers. Easy package tracking online or same-day delivery and pickup, which are two functions that can be followed by luxury retailers.
Not to mention that the high standard set by e-commerce giants, luxury brands might find it difficult for them. Additionally, luxury brands are going to have to include more explanatory product information related to apparel sizing if they have any chance of bringing shoppers back through the channel.
“We did not find any evidence of that in this study, but we are prepared to be proven wrong. It just did not seem like there was a great eagerness to go back and spend heavily. Again, it is well documented that home is much more than a home base. All of a sudden, all these women, who were out and about, as they discussed, are now at home 24/7 sheltering in place,” Gundell added.
(News Source: Sourcing Journal)
