Luxury Brands Retail Management: Online, In-store and Omni-channel

This report delves into the evolving landscape of luxury retail management, examining the shift from traditional in-store shopping to the integration of online platforms and the omni-channel approach. It explores the distinct consumer profiles and expectations of luxury buyers, including the impact of Generation Z, and analyzes the customer journey from awareness to loyalty. The report highlights the technologies, such as AI and IT, employed by luxury retailers to enhance customer experiences and build brand loyalty. It provides examples of successful retail strategies, such as Burberry, and discusses the applicability of luxury retail principles to the luxury hospitality sector, including design hotels and boutiques. The report emphasizes the importance of personalized service and adapting to changing consumer behaviors to maintain a competitive edge in the luxury market.

Running head: RETAIL MANAGEMENT OF LUXURY BRANDS
RETAIL MANAGEMENT OF LUXURY BRANDS
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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................2
Concept of Online and In-store Shopping in Luxury Retail and the Omni Channel.....2
Consumer Expectations and Profile...............................................................................3
Customer Journey...........................................................................................................4
Technologies Used in Luxury Retail Industry...............................................................5
Examples of Building Retail Loyalty.............................................................................6
Application of Luxury Retail Strategies to Luxury Hospitality Sectors........................6
Conclusion......................................................................................................................6
References......................................................................................................................8
References....................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The business context for the retail industry is changing with the advent of internet and
information technology. The online retailing business is the new important side of business
that most of the entrepreneurs are relying on. Having said that, one must not ignore the in-
store or brick-and-mortar retail industry in luxury goods. Most of the luxury brands in every
sectors are trying out the new Omni-channel concept for their business development. In this
report, the researcher will talk about the international distribution channels in the light of the
luxury retail industry. The major focus would be on the generation Z customer sections and
how they react to the in-store retailing in the industry. There would be discussion of customer
journey and expectations, technologies and examples of the retail management in
organisations.
Concept of Online and In-store Shopping in Luxury Retail and the Omni Channel
The shopping behaviour of the regular shoppers and the luxury buyers are different.
The product quality, presentation and the prices have huge difference in the luxury and the
regular shopping. Hence, the motivational factors for the luxury shoppers are not the same as
the regular shopper (Arrigo 2018.). The luxury retailers have a clear idea of this aspect. This
is the reason that they have two different strategies for their retail business-online and in-store
customers are treated differently to some extent.
The online shopping in the luxury brands in the retail sectors are a new concept, but it
has gain popularity in no time. The luxury goods that are bought through a thorough online
distribution channel are the online luxury retails. On the other hand, buying the luxury
products in the stores has been a long tradition in the luxury business. The scenario is slightly
different in the retail industry. According to Guercini and Runfola (2015), unlike the other
industries of luxury products, the e-commerce channels of the luxury products are expanding

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rapidly. Luxury brands are the one that have authenticity at the heart and have a back story of
their own. The luxury retail buyers are mostly in search of unique and innovation product
associated with a brand name to trust.
The luxury retail brand are now trying to implement the omni-channel retail
distribution to attract the generation Z along with other customers. This is the distribution
channel in which the both online and in-store buying options are available to the consumers.
Consumer Expectations and Profile
The expectation and customer loyalty are the two aspects of business that the luxury
retailers take seriously. The demand of the customers changes according to their preferred
medium of buying products. The market researches show that the common tendency of the
luxury goods buyer is to buy products in the store. The consumers of online and in-store
platforms also expect different types of experience while buying the product (Crewe 2016).
First if we talk about the in-store customers, most of them are tend to have a tacit buying
experience and personalised customers’ services. This section of buyer always prefer to visit
the stores in order to see the product personally and then buy it. The on-store experience
provided by the managers or the representatives while narrating the features are another
motivating factor for their buying (Arrigo 2015). Usually these customers are within the age
group of 25 to 60 and above. The section of customers have a high end taste and prefer to buy
high-priced products. The socio-economic status of the customers are high and they prefer
personalised and elevated experience in their lifestyles.
On the other hand, the generation Z or the people under the age of 20 or below prefer
to buy everything through online channels. According to Cho and Lee (2017), they prefer to
analyse the product quality, price and designs through the online platforms or websites. The
buying experience for these customers have to be easy and tension free. They prefer to be

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price conscious while buying the products and availability of the products is necessary to
make buying decision. The customer reviews in the company websites paly an important role
in the decision making as well. The companies have to provide enough information to the
customers to attract the attention of these group of people.
Customer Journey
Most of the companies in the luxury retailing the inclining to the omni-channel
distributions. The target customers of this sections are the people who live a high status life
and have newly started to explore the luxury branding all by themselves. The companies in
this sector already have a loyal customer’s base who re mainly the successful and wealthy
sections within the age group of 30 to 60 or above. The challenge lies in the acquisition of
market for the new age customers or generation Z. The steps of customers journey is given
below-
Awareness
Improved technology and AI has been used in the stores to build awareness of the
product the company is trying to sell. The modern gadgets like computers, iPad and
smartphones are used to advertise the product and encourage the customers to visit the stores.
Consideration
The next step is where the customers feel the necessity of the product and consider
buying it to fulfil their demands (Pantano et al. 2018). This is a crucial stage where the stores,
websites and advertisements can motivate the customers to consider the options they get.
Acquisition

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The selection of the rand by the customers is called acquisition. There are a number of
options in luxury retail for every consumer. The luxury retailers have to present their product
uniqueness in order to gain the market trust.
Service
In the Omni-channel or the in-store buying, service in the store is the most important
part of the customers buying decision. The customers journey would have the culmination
part of the luxury good seller are able to give the customers a personalised and out of the box
experience through their stores services (Guercini and Runfola 2015).
Loyalty
Loyalty maintenance of the customer depends on the overall store experience and the
after buying experience as well. As opined by Kim et al. (2016), the luxury store owner can
have after buying feedback and improve the service quality so that the customer comes again
to buy the products.
Technologies Used in Luxury Retail Industry
AI
In the luxury retail industry the capacity of AI is to have predictive forecast and
merchandising effects. The generation Z is interested in the products that they can easily
access and that are available to them instantly (Crewe 2016). This is why the Artificial
Intelligence technologies are being used in the fashion luxury retailing to interpret the
demands of the market and fulfil it accordingly.
IT
Information technology can be useful for the luxury retailers in multiple aspects.
Right from the market analysis to the information haring to the consumers, all can be done

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through the information technology and the social media platforms (Klein et al. 2016). While
buying the high-priced products, consumers tend to have all the information at their disposal.
Examples of Building Retail Loyalty
Luxury retailing brands are not limited to their origin country anymore. They are
trying to expand their grip in the international markets and increase their customer base and
loyalty world-wide. One example in this sector can be the Burberry (London) flagship. The
store is attracting the new generation buyer by renovating their stores and levelling up their
promotional game. The use of social media has been increased in the promotions of the group
products (Taube and Warnaby 2017). The group has used AI or the robotics to create the
sculpture of human bodies. All these are used as the attraction point for the customers in the
store.
Application of Luxury Retail Strategies to Luxury Hospitality Sectors
The luxury retail strategies are quite applicable to the luxury hospitality sectors. The
luxury hospitality includes the design hotels and boutiques where the first-hand experience is
the most important thing. The service sector is all about how the customers are treated and
what their personalised needs are in their visit. This goes same with the experience of the
retailers in the luxury sections. As the retailers are trying to implement the omni-channel
structure, the hospitality industry can also gain benefits from it (Lunardo and Mouangue
2019). Again, another part is the interior designing, technology implementation and customer
attending methods. All these can be instrumental in improving the services.
Conclusion
The changing context of the luxury retailing is aiming to capture the interest of the
new generation. The companies are trying to impress the generation Z and inspire them to

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come to the stores. The result of the strategies are quite positive at times. The youngsters are
more inclined to buy things online, but the luxury product buying is also about the store
experience. Recently, there is a tendency of the customers to visit the stores and buy their
required products. Hence, it can be said that the Omni-channel approach to the distribution
channel of the luxury retailing is worthy of the building customers loyalty. People are visiting
the stores for more personalised experience and buying the products in person.

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References
Arrigo, E., 2015. The role of the flagship store location in luxury branding. An international
exploratory study. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management.
Arrigo, E., 2018. The flagship stores as sustainability communication channels for luxury
fashion retailers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 44, pp.170-177.
Cho, J.Y. and Lee, E.J., 2017. Impact of interior colors in retail store atmosphere on
consumers’ perceived store luxury, emotions, and preference. Clothing and Textiles Research
Journal, 35(1), pp.33-48.
Crewe, L., 2016. Placing fashion: Art, space, display and the building of luxury fashion
markets through retail design. Progress in Human Geography, 40(4), pp.511-529.
Guercini, S. and Runfola, A., 2015. Internationalization through e-commerce. The case of
multibrand luxury retailers in the fashion industry. Advances in International Marketing, 26,
pp.15-31.
Kim, S., Park, G., Lee, Y. and Choi, S., 2016. Customer emotions and their triggers in luxury
retail: Understanding the effects of customer emotions before and after entering a luxury
shop. Journal of Business Research, 69(12), pp.5809-5818.
Klein, J.F., Falk, T., Esch, F.R. and Gloukhovtsev, A., 2016. Linking pop-up brand stores to
brand experience and word of mouth: The case of luxury retail. Journal of Business
Research, 69(12), pp.5761-5767.
Lunardo, R. and Mouangue, E., 2019. Getting over discomfort in luxury brand stores: How
pop-up stores affect perceptions of luxury, embarrassment, and store evaluations. Journal of
Retailing and Consumer Services, 49, pp.77-85.
Pantano, E., Passavanti, R., Priporas, C.V. and Verteramo, S., 2018. To what extent luxury
retailing can be smart?. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 43, pp.94-100.

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Taube, J. and Warnaby, G., 2017. How brand interaction in pop-up shops influences
consumers’ perceptions of luxury fashion retailers. Journal of Fashion Marketing and
Management: An International Journal.

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References

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