Media Budgets Continue to Focus on Digital and Mobile in 2016
In 2015, luxury brands continued their evolution to digital with increased budgets being spent online. It has been a slow integration, but luxury brands are finally seeing the business opportunity online and are following their consumers to the center of the decision making process. According to Neil Cunningham, Managing Director of Cream UK, 95% of luxury buyers are digitally connected, and 75% of luxury purchases are influenced by at least one digital touch point. Taking this into consideration brands need to be at the heart of the digital world.
Brands can no longer just ‘wet their toes’ in the online realm. To be successful and truly influence the consumer, brands need to totally re-think their approach to digital. By creating a seamless and unique online experience, brands will resonate with their buyer.
The ‘year of the mobile’ has been in development for a while now but 2015 was definitely that year. With Google rewarding those mobile optimized with a unique algorithm, companies are now having to catch on and develop to be seen. Companies such as Net-a-Porter reported mobile e-commerce sales representing 30% of all US sales, and mobile searches as a whole are reported to be accounting for 57% of traffic to luxury sites. A recent McKinsey study found that 20% of all luxury sales were influenced by digital marketing and 70% of consumers used a mobile device. The change of media consumption has been a challenge for luxury brands but they need to remain relevant to their customer and remain tech savvy.
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Brand loyalty and retention are what all brands strive for and are the characteristics of a good luxury brand. To remain at the forefront, luxury brands must dominate social media, mobile apps and web design. By fluidly linking all online channels, brands can remain at the forefront of their consumers mind. Here, brands can build relationships and build their luxury content marketing. Through consumer engagement and active communications, luxury brands can generate sales.