Chatbots help online shoppers by answering their queries about a product, or advising on the best product to meet a customer's needs. Some brands have even successfully driven sales by chatbots.
Augmented reality
Augmented reality will be used not only in showrooms to enhance in-store experience. It integrates the real environment as seen through a camera on a smartphone and overlays it with additional digital information. It can provide the simulation of a store-like experience at the customer's home or during a walk outside.
Augmented reality is already being used in the field of luxury beauty to help with matching makeup shades and hair colour to a customer's skin type. The customer can then see their face with selected makeup applied on a screen.
In the future there will be, for example, 3D product models with customisable parts available online.
China loves luxury
The growing middle class in China is a huge driver of the global luxury market. At the beginning of 2018, China accounted for 32% of global luxury goods purchases. Brands keen to set up e-commerce in China need to tailor their digital strategy to specific Chinese shopping habits.
Chinese consumers use apps (for example WeChat) much more than internet browsers. Partnering with existing apps can then be a necessity, according to the business2community.com website.
Online stories and videos
Successful luxury brands always tell stories about uniqueness to bring in customers. Going online can then be seen as sacrificing some of the sense of exclusivity. However, compelling (video) stories will become a necessity because when purchasing luxury products, customers are already very much influenced by online content.
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