It’s a question that pops up time and time again: how should luxury retail brands appeal to the digital lives of HNWIs. How does a brand separate itself on digital platforms which tend to level the playing field.
The uncomfortable settlement has frequently been that illustrious and luxuriant imagery, often delivered through flash website experiences, was the answer. Last year eConsultancy challenged that logic when it slammed 17 luxury brands’ websites for being simply unusable. According to the knowledge hub, they were unnavigable, seldom worked on any device other than desktop, and acted more as a barrier than a facilitator. Such criticism has helped to raise the profile of user experience as the unsung hero of what it is to be a luxury website. So this week, eConsultancy has highlighted the launch of the new Mulberry site as a step firmly in the right direction. While far from delivering on all its potential, the user-friendly, simple interface has won praise for being easily accessible across devices, having minimal steps to purchase and above all else, ensuring that high value shoppers will not left tearing their hair out.
It’s not the end of the story, luxury brands must continue to do more to differentiate themselves in the online world – but it’s plain to see that this mustn’t be at the cost of user experience.
