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Luxury Online

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Luxury Online

Styles, Systems, Strategies

Palgrave Macmillan,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

How can luxury goods exploit the internet’s mass appeal yet remain exclusive to the wealthy elite?

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

How do you market luxury items, which by definition are exclusive, on the internet, which by definition is accessible to the masses? This is the conundrum facing the luxury products industry, explains high-end marketing strategist Uché Okonkwo, and most deluxe brands have failed to find a solution – so far. Prada didn’t even have a website until 2007. Today, countless blogs, forums and websites are dedicated to exchanging information that once belonged exclusively to the elite. For instance, in 2009, online “fashionistas” saw Madonna’s Louis Vuitton ad campaign months before the images appeared in Vogue. Thousands of savvy observers congregated on the web, talked about the ads, pronounced judgment and moved on to the next big thing. Okonkwo explores how the web has revolutionized the way people perceive, view and purchase luxury goods. She explains why the industry must do a better job of responding to and participating in the digital world. Her exposition is thorough, solid and relevant, with abundant helpful pictures, though wordiness and repetition somewhat impede smooth sailing. Still, getAbstract believes it is a landmark resource for the luxury sector and of interest to anyone in e-commerce.

Summary

The Challenge

The luxury industry lags far behind other segments in online business. Most deluxe-goods marketers initially viewed the internet suspiciously as a mass-market, discount communication vehicle. Though the web has been in popular use for years, luxury marketers long believed that it wasn’t worth their attention. As one luxury brand employee retorted, “Our CEO doesn’t like the internet and he doesn’t use a computer. We don’t need the internet. The internet is not luxury.” Why would luxury goods sellers be so blatantly, stubbornly disinterested in the many opportunities that burgeoning new technologies offer? The luxury sector is a distinctive industry. It exquisitely crafts fine items for the pleasure of a few select, rich buyers. Those who sell high-end timepieces, handbags, furniture, fragrances or jewelry rely on loyal, wealthy clients who are committed to perfection and able to afford such indulgences. The web’s accessibility breaks these customary social and financial stratifications.

The “digital revolution” has affected every aspect of society. E-commerce has changed how people buy and sell goods. Luxury-loving clients, now online in great numbers, ...

About the Author

Uché Okonkwo is a luxury-sector strategist who works with brands such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Co., Gucci, Cartier and Burberry. She is the founder of the Luxe Corp consultancy, editor of Luxe-Mag.com and author of Luxury Fashion Branding.


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