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Retail Business Review | Friday, January 20, 2023
Investing at every stage of the customer journey is key to maintaining a luxury experience.
FREMONT, CA: Luxury retail has traditionally been considered one of the most resilient segments of retail. Luxury retail rebounded from covid-19 more quickly than other retail segments due to a quick digital pivot and latent demand. As a result of its pocket aces of exclusivity and affluent customers, luxury retail has fared better than most when it comes to global inflation. This segment has played similar economic uncertainty before, so it's a winning hand.
The future holds new challenges that cannot be solved so easily. Luxury retailers must adapt to changing customer expectations, social and environmental concerns, and geopolitical events.
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Adapting to this new paradigm requires luxury brands to rethink who they are and how they interact with their customers. For brands looking to make an impact in 2023 and beyond, here are the top luxury retail trends to watch.
Luxury retail will soon be dominated by millennials and Gen-Z, but for very different reasons than their parents: It has been long anticipated that Millennials and Gen-Z would enter the luxury retail market. Despite years of slowly increasing segment growth, this cohort currently accounts for 50 percent of luxury sales and is expected to reach 70 percent by 2025. In spite of the fact that these retail trends are nothing new to any competent brand, the reasons for their growth are significantly different from those of previous generations.
Their shopping is based on value. These generations expect brands to share their values and earn their loyalty and investment by sharing their beliefs. As a result, luxury brands must demonstrate their commitment to the same social, environmental, and political causes as their customers.
It is important to them that the brands they shop for are authentic and innovative. In addition to promoting innovation and new technologies, millennials and Gen-Z are willing to invest in luxury goods that deliver long-term quality. As a purchase driver, 78 percent of luxury consumers point to a brand's commitment to innovation.
Talent and experience in-store will become increasingly important: Investing in luxury talent at every stage of the customer journey is key to maintaining a luxury experience. In addition, it means equipping that talent with the right tools and training to create an immersive customer experience. The ability to deliver a differentiating customer experience is no longer limited to a book of business and clienteling skills.
Tomorrow's luxury consumer is a hybrid shoppers, and they expect brands to provide them with value-based engagement. Store associates serve as the human face of a brand by:
• Connecting the digital and physical worlds. Associates are expected to deliver a seamless experience with a high level of service using both physical and digital tools.
• Providing customers with a value-driven experience by pivoting quickly to changing expectations.
• Integrating brand values and authenticity, not snobbish exclusivity.
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