Luxury has always been a growth driver in China. Indeed, the turnover of the market reached 36 million dollars in 2016. The trade of online luxury is booming, online sales already represent 5% of the total market share. China is an ideal consumer target for luxury brands, which see in them an opportunity to expand their business. However, the Middle Empire is an environment that is developing rapidly and in which the digital sphere takes an increasingly important place on which luxury brands cannot miss. In this article, we will tell you the relevance of digital on the Chinese market and expose you to the case of Gucci.
An ambiguity between luxury and digital
The luxury sector has always had some stereotypes to launch on the digital channel. Indeed, the sector that is synonymous with prestige and rarity, is confronted with the digital symbolizing the inexhaustible resources.
This non-complementarity of values as well as the fear of being attached to the image of the sector “mass market”, has long prevented the sector from innovating and adapting to a target consumer ready to do anything to consume luxury.
However, since 2000, several brands have been interested in this opportunity to go beyond the customer-brand experience by offering consumers a complete universe on the channel.
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Accompany the customer in his experience with the brand
China is a well-known market for luxury product reproduction. This environment has made the Chinese consumer fearful and suspicious of the products they can search on the internet. The Chinese consumer used to carry out a large search on Internet before any decision.
The digital in this perspective helps to improve and accompany the consumer throughout its journey. The different platforms of brands, social networks are important elements in attracting the target.
The Importance of Social Media for Luxury Brands
To differentiate, brands must not lose sight of the need to communicate and interact with their communities. Indeed, integrating a digital strategy that will focus on social business is an almost mandatory step to succeed in the Chinese market.
The brands have truly assimilated the importance of digital to the Chinese market and place this new channel at the heart of their strategic development goals. The goal is to combine the digital without compromising the image of luxury. Many companies have launched the challenge, notably Gucci, which has just launched its online store.
A Giant Step in Luxury E-Commerce: The Gucci Case
Gucci has always been a pioneer in terms of digitizing their activities. It ranks fifth in the list of top luxury brands online. Indeed, the Italian brand has consistently had a strong commitment to social media, especially on Weibo.
Still, in this perspective of adaptation and satisfaction of the Chinese clientele, the brand Gucci just came to launch its own online shop. Consumers have the opportunity to buy a wide range of fashion products, leather goods, accessories, shoes. In this continuity of ease, the Chinese customer journey, the platform allows payment via the means of payment used in the territory ie Alipay, WeChat payment, etc.
WeChat with its 860 million active users is essential to build a reputation and exploit highly active communities. The platform offers luxury bets the opportunity to offer their customers personalized content to develop a good brand image and strengthen the loyalty of Chinese consumers and their sense of belonging to a community.
Wechat Official Gucci Account
The official Gucci WeChat account has been strengthened on O2O functionality to analyze and obtain more information about their Asian customers. Through the platform, the brand has realized various events in Asia such as the art exhibition entitled “Blind for Love” enabling the Gucci addicts to plunge into the world of the artistic director of the brand Alessandro Michele.
For this event, Gucci invited fans to visit the exhibition via WeChat and then had the option to post photos of it using the hashtag #blindforlove on WeChat and Weibo. The event and the campaign, were a real success since it has made more than 9 million views.
Luxury brands have appropriated the codes of digital over the years and have finally assimilated the fact that their future customers would be 100% digital.
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