The world of luxury is fast being impacted by technology, if the experiences of some of the world’s leading luxury brands are anything to go by, says Added Value, a strategic marketing consultancy.
For example, British brand Burberry revealed in its retail sales report for the first quarter of 2015 that its digital platforms continue to ‘outperform’, driven by mobile sales.
Digital is narrowing the gap between luxury brands and consumers, and is deemed particularly effective in seducing a younger audience: 68% of Millennials follow more than one luxury brand on social media.
Burberry continues to pioneer the use of new technologies – it recently used Periscope, Twitter’s video streaming app, to broadcast its ‘London in L.A’ show, and posted on Snapchat from behind the scenes as everyone prepped for the show.
In another example, Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer is working with Google and Intel to create a smartwatch that will rival the Apple Watch. The watch is due to retail at just over $1,500, against Apple’s top price of $10,000-$17,000 for the Edition range, and will have 40 hours battery life (against Apple’s 18 hours).
Due for release in fall 2015, Jean-Claude Biver, President of the LVMH Watch Division, believes Apple Watch advertising will help sales of their smartwatch because the ads put a spotlight on luxury and consumers could be more likely to upgrade to classic luxury brands.