I don’t know when we have been in an era called Internet +. Internet + quickly abducted our lives with its powerful deterrent, and we became known as OTO, BTB, BTC and other business models are targeted, and in the process, there are always luxury goods that have been entrenched. Prior to this, Gucci, Amani, Bell & Ross, Piaget, Montblanc, TAG Heuer … Now Cartier ), Is luxury becoming an e-commerce irreversible trend? So, can e-commerce luxury goods be called real luxury goods?
Cartier online boutique really opened
The topic of Catier’s Internet marketing business has been hotly debated for some time. Until October 23, Cartier’s official WeChat officially released: ‘Cartier Online Boutique is now open!’ For a moment, public opinion was uproar. Various words in the keyword search of Internet search poured out, ‘the luxury giant crocodile embraces e-commerce …’ ‘Cartier’s e-commerce business is quietly launched …’
In fact, since August 15th, Cartier’s unprecedented “888 yuan WeChat pre-sale” for the new Clé de Cartier K gold stainless steel watch has been the prelude to Cartier’s marriage e-commerce, and now the online boutiques are officially launched, it seems It doesn’t seem so obtrusive. Interestingly, Cartier did not conduct media preheating and hype about the opening of online boutiques, and this kind of pre-dawn silence seems to have caused more people’s opinions. At the same time, because of Cartier’s extraordinary influence, people have also begun to realize the impact of the e-commerce boom on the luxury goods industry, and various related speculations and judgments have also been clamoring.
What makes luxury brands excited?
In fact, Cartier is not the first person to eat crabs. For luxury brands to lay out the Internet, Piaget and Montblanc, both of which belong to Richemont, are already in front of Cartier. The behavior undoubtedly increases the closer contact between luxury goods and e-commerce. However, this kind of strategic behavior is not to cater to the trend and popularity of the Internet. Once the brands board the luxury aircraft carriers, they will retreat if they don’t advance against the water. The pressure on survival performance numbers is naked.
McKinsey has released data that online sales of luxury goods account for 4% of the total market and are increasing at twice the overall growth rate of the luxury goods industry. If it continues to grow at this rate, 5 years later, the online consumption of the luxury goods industry can reach 20 billion euros. I believe anyone who sees such a figure will be tempted. For Cartier’s owner Richemont Group, the emerging markets in Asia are sluggish. The 2014-2015 financial report shows that the group’s net profit has fallen for the first time in five years. Under such pressure, e-commerce may become a new source of their performance growth. Development opportunities. Regardless of price adjustments in Hong Kong and the Mainland, or the sudden opening of electricity providers, Cartier hopes that it can use online shopping platforms to launch cost-effective products and inject a boost to the weak market.
However, this is only the beginning. When luxury goods companies realize that increasing physical stores is no longer the only option, the Internet will undoubtedly become a new battlefield for earning revenue. More and more consumers are turning to mobile terminals for product browsing and purchasing. The Internet Has become the key to getting consumer data. Not only Richemont Group, but as another giant of the luxury goods industry, LVMH Group, its 15 major fashion and leather goods brands Fendi will set up their own e-commerce website this year, even Chanel, which has always been high. (Chanel) will also enter e-commerce in 2016.
A luxury online battle in the Internet + era is already inevitable.
The biggest difference comes from the buying experience
Since luxury marriage e-commerce sounds so reasonable and imperative, then why the Internet has been hustle and bustled for so many years, and the luxury industry seems to have a breakthrough, which is not too much for the luxury industry that has always been at the front end Do you know hindsight?
The reason is of course self-evident. Luxury is luxury. It is not a discount tissue and laundry detergent in Tmall supermarket. One-click can be used to get in touch with the public. In addition to those naked figures and benefits in the industry, it faces the public with a spiritual appearance and represents people’s distant desires and dreams. This seems to be the essence of luxury goods. This is also the luxury goods and Internet e-commerce. The most opposite place.
If you buy luxury goods, there are no high-end shopping malls where elegant top-level brands gather, there are no exquisitely decorated boutique stores with strong brand culture, and there is no standardized one-to-one decent service provided by beautiful and handsome shopping guides. The sense of touch and the desire to explore a luxury product are most important without the superiority and luxury experience of not buying a luxury product! All goods are presented on the virtual platform in the form of digital network, and can be easily purchased with one click. Will the charm of the so-called luxury goods be greatly reduced?
In addition, the disadvantages of luxury goods trading online are not the only ones. The security, experience, and legal risks of Internet transactions are all factors to be considered. Take the latest Cartier online, by browsing Cartier’s online boutiques, you can see that Cartier has done a lot of homework in terms of online transaction security risks and legal disputes. For example, Cartier China Online Boutique and Customer Care Center list 21 sales terms by category, which includes purchase qualification, payment, order, delivery, return and exchange … especially the sales contract confirmation among them. Imagine that every time you buy one Luxury goods are signed by a sales contract. Every time an online transaction is made, a virtual person will explain to you the responsibilities and risks of purchasing. This feels … Compared with the experience of offline boutiques, the gap is indeed a bit large. .
Obviously, online transactions have affected the mysticism and exclusive attitude of luxury goods. The value of these luxury goods is simply not enough to be compensated by the excellent web design. It seems that these are the luxury goods that refuse to return to e-commerce. The real reason to greet and hesitate.
Is Cartier really playing like this?
Regardless, luxury bosses have finally taken this step, marrying Internet e-commerce with a high profile. The gesture has been done, but the level of specific operations seems to be another matter. Is Cartier really doing online transactions for ‘luxury goods’? Cartier marries Internet e-commerce, is it distribution or marketing?
Cartier Clé de Cartier watch
Cartier Clé de Cartier 18K rose gold watch
We see an interesting phenomenon. In Cartier’s online boutiques, the products that can actually achieve online transactions account for only a very small part of Cartier’s total number of products, and they are the basic models and entry for the main product lines such as watches and jewelry. Grade products, for example, Cartier’s latest Clé de Cartier series watches, the only gold and steel watches in the Clé de Cartier series and 18K rose gold watch with a strap, other precious metal Both diamond styles and complex styles require further phone booking and communication. Piaget, which has already been on the Internet, has achieved very little online transactions.
It can be seen that when luxury brands such as Cartier are actually married to Internet e-commerce, they actually have reservations. The products that are open to online transactions are actually relatively low-end consumer products of the brand, which are at best the high-end of the public Consumption is not really a ‘luxury’ related to the lifeblood of the brand. The high-end jewelry and mysterious watches that symbolize Cartier’s true brand value are still high above the earth. In this way, Cartier’s online boutique is more like a grand marketing than real sales through the Internet.
Cartier’s move not only complied with the trend of the Internet and earned a lot of money, but also made money through the basic models and accessory fragrances and leather goods. It also achieved another very important purpose: to seize the young digital consumer group. These young Internet-dependent young consumers are at least wise to exclude all species that do not meet their consumption habits, adapt to the consumption habits of these future luxury consumers, and occupy a place in their hearts first.
Dream upward! Benefits down?
The most special thing about luxury is the relationship with dreams, that is the dream that people are wrapped in desire. Dreams are usually out of reach. Just being will make people feel happy. Dreams should not be realized easily, but need to be achieved through hard work and dedication, and to a certain extent enough. This logic is exactly the same as the logic of luxury goods, which is why luxury goods have the same charm as dreams. For those who can easily obtain a high-end watch, luxury goods have more ultimate meaning for him, just like a classic dialogue in the movie ’33 Days of Love’: ‘For Li Ke, Love is a luxury and LV is a necessity of life. For a person like Miss Huang, LV may be a luxury, but love is a necessity of life. ‘Luxury’ for different people. Since it is a dream, the dream can only go up.
Stills from 33 Days of Love
Back to the entanglement between luxury goods and e-commerce, some people say that ‘luxury e-commerce will become a trend.’ I think this argument is too simple and rude. Is luxury really grafted on e-commerce? Come down from the altar? Not necessarily, what is important is how the big names in luxury goods grasp the scale. Many luxury brands have a history of hundreds of years, and how many wars, crises, and challenges they have encountered, are still high above them, inviolable. It is an Internet + era, no matter how great pressure, it is not worth the expense of brand value. The argument is the trend of e-commerce of luxury goods, but in fact, the products that can realize the operation of e-commerce can still not be called real luxury goods, just mass-market high-end consumer goods with the symbol of luxury goods.
The luxury goods group wants to create dreams and money at the same time. In fact, these two needs are not contradictory. The contradiction is the relationship between long-term interests and short-term interests. After the Internet + era, there will be new era challenges. The constant change is the dream value of luxury goods.