Luxe 2.0 - Marketing digital - E-commerce

Chanel has unveiled a new timepiece with integrated headphones, equipped with a microphone and remote control. Wearers can connect their smartphones to the watch to take calls, listen to music, and control audio and video playback.

Coined the Première Sound, the design is inspired by the original Première Édition Originale watch, which was first introduced in 1987. The new model features a wired headphones feature alongside its watch face, and is worn as a necklace. The watch made its debut in a campaign video featuring ambassador Lily-Rose Depp.

With more luxury players wanting a piece of the tech wearables pie, who’s balancing style and utility best?

The overseas Chinese demographic avidly engages with both Western and Chinese social media platforms, aspiring to the luxurious lifestyles showcased across these platforms.

They move beyond traditional brand communications like newsletters and websites, seeking inspiration from Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) on both Western platforms like Instagram and Chinese platforms like Xiaohongshu (RED).

However, brands often make the mistake of engaging this audience with generic messaging solely through Western media channels.

With China’s consumer confidence in 2024 still taking hits, the recovery of luxury goods consumption has proven to be shaky. Some brands like Miu Miu achieved stratospheric growth in 2024, while others, like Burberry, have suffered, so much so in the British fashion house’s case that a long term look at the brand’s company structure is necessary.

As social media impact is key to brand performance in China, ReHub’s quarterly Compass Index provides a barometer for luxury and premium brands and the impact of their marketing and consumer noise. Based on data from both Brand Generated Content (official accounts) as well as user generated content (organic mentions and engagements), the index covers WeChat, Douyin, Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) and Weibo.

ReHub’s Compass Index looks at how brands rank among competitors and uncovers the marketing impact across key social media channels in China.

L'accord avec Saks offre à Amazon un autre moyen de pénétrer le marché mondial du luxe, qui pèse 370M€, en apportant son expertise en matière de technologie et de logistique, ce qui pourrait faciliter les livraisons et les retours pour les clients VIP de Saks Global. Mais une coopération plus étroite avec les magasins de luxe n'est pas à exclure. Le marché américain du luxe a été touché par la réduction des dépenses des consommateurs aisés, plutôt que par les très fortunés. Le e-commerce en a particulièrement souffert, car ces consommateurs ont tendance à acheter en ligne. Cette évolution a contribué à la vente de Farfetch Ltd. à la société sud-coréenne de commerce électronique Coupang Ltd. en décembre, et à la faillite de la société britannique Matches Fashion en mars. Yoox Net-a-Porter, propriété de Richemont, est également en vente. L'implosion du marché en ligne pourrait rendre la société Amazon plus attrayante pour les petites maisons de couture qui vendaient auparavant par l'intermédiaire de ces canaux. La montée en gamme est une meilleure option qu'une course au bas de gamme contre Temu et Shein, d'autant plus que les membres Prime, le marché principal d'Amazon, ont tendance à être plus aisés.

Art Basel, the annual art fair that draws the attention of collectors, aficionados, and luxury players the world over, was back with its latest edition this weekend.

Held in its eponymous hometown of Basel, Switzerland, the expo welcomed a deluge of contemporary artists and multidisciplinary creatives, as well as luxury brands keen to expand on their cultural credentials. This included Puig-owned Rabanne, which unveiled its latest collaborative project alongside Dazed and six rising digital artists on Wednesday.

As Rabanne fleshes out its cultural presence alongside its recent rebrand, immersing itself in the digital art space is part of its master plan. The label is harnessing this burgeoning medium not only to connect with its technologically attuned younger consumers but also to keep itself at the forefront of creative evolution.

The project is indicative of how fashion is approaching the digital world today.

It’s been a tough year for luxury e-commerce marketplaces and e-tailers— but a crop of smaller marketplaces are beating the odds with a focus on emerging accessible luxury brands and a firmer grip on operating costs.

Many of the major luxury e-commerce players have lost their competitive edge and seen sales and growth declines as a result.

Emerging luxury marketplaces, however, are forgoing direct competition with one other by carrying exclusive selections from emerging brands.

They’re also growing profitably by refusing to own any inventory, selling marketing services to their brands and boutique partners and keeping a lid on discounting.

Balenciaga’s music division has launched its latest NFC-connected merch collection in partnership with musician BFRND. The French music artist, who is the composer behind all of Balenciaga’s shows since 2017 and a regular campaign fixture, curated a new playlist for the drop, which owners can listen to by scanning the chip on the garments. Players of a Balenciaga mini-game can navigate their way through the brand’s iconic show sets, including the theater from its most recent Spring 2024 collection. The game is accessible via a dedicated site, WeChat, or on a touchscreen in select Balenciaga stores.

Hugo Boss has announced the release of its new customer loyalty program, promising its members “a new world of engagement.” Coined Hugo Boss XP, the new community platform will enable audiences to collect and redeem NFTs that unlock exclusive products, unique brand experiences, and additional offers.

The program is slated for an initial launch next month and marks the next chapter in the brand’s “ambitious multiyear roadmap.” Its’ omnichannel approach to Web3 is pushing the brand ahead of once-untouchable competitors in the space. The first half of the year saw the brand go all in on its tech-driven playbook, combining holograms, gaming collaborations, and metaverse activations.

Louis Vuitton’s first Xiaohongshu livestreaming test in 2020 wasn’t as successful as expected. However, the French house didn’t give up on extending its reach to Xiaohongshu’s base of young, fashion-driven, and wealthy users from Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities. After this, Lanvin and Givenchy joined Xiaohongshu in 2020 to livestream their collections.

On April 21 this year, Louis Vuitton hosted an online resee of its Womenswear Pre-Fall 2024 Shanghai runway on Xiaohongshu, drawing 470.000 viewers, breaking luxury brands’ livestream viewership record on the lifestyle platform.

Xiaohongshu has 300 million monthly active users, and more than 80 million users contribute to the platform’s lively user-generated content (UGC). Young consumers who love life and try new things congregate in Xiaohongshu, shaping and giving rise to diverse lifestyles and consumption patterns, such as the “dopamine dressing,” “Maillard,” and “old-money” styles.

Xiaohongshu’s users are better educated about brands and eager to embrace fresh experiences and new products than those on low-tier urabite-facing Douyin and Kuaishou. Hence, livestream selling has taken a different shape on Xiaohongshu.

On April 25, Levi’s released the first episode of its maiden Chinese-language podcast series titled Speaking with ‘Lee.’ As the denim giant dips its toes into this burgeoning medium in China, it marks a strategic, deeper foray into the hearts, and ears, of Chinese consumers.

Other brands have also been exploring the podcast medium in a bid to engage consumers on a more cultural and intellectual level. Local labels like Neiwai, Maia Active, and Pop Mart have gone down this route. Of the global brands, Gucci, Coach, Lancôme, and Louis Vuitton have all launched digital podcasts on Chinese platforms like Ximalaya, Vistopia, and Xiaoyuzhou.

The state of luxury multi-brand e-commerce in the West is a shambles. February 2024 saw Farfetch narrowly escape bankruptcy through a sale to South Korean giant Coupang in a pre-pack administration deal; by March, MatchesFashion had announced its shuttering. All the while, Richemont’s loss-making retailer Yoox-Net-A-Porter (YNAP) continues to search for a buyer.

Meanwhile, in China, the largest global e-commerce platforms in terms of revenue — JD.com, Tmall, Taobao, and Luxury Pavilion — are thriving marketplaces for high-end brands. Over the past year,  56%  of the mainland’s online luxury shoppers used JD.com for their purchases. E-tailer Tmall commands the largest market share in China, responsible for some 51% of all transactions on B2C platforms — consumers spend an average of seven minutes a day on the platform.

These impressive statistics are the stuff of dreams for Western e-commerce players. A combination of decreased consumer loyalty, lack of brand support, unexciting customer journeys, and lack of personalized experiences have led to its demise. Also, there are too many Western retailers offering very similar services, just in different fonts.

Luxury multi-brand stores served a purpose in the early days before the luxury sector had embraced e-commerce. But in the same way that luxury companies took back distribution from department stores, The same thing is happening to luxury multi-brand e-commerce retailers.

Brands want direct interaction with their consumers, as shown by the success of auction house Phillips’ Dropshop service.

Launched in summer 2023, the direct-from-artist sales platform is the first to partner directly with artists who are creating works specifically for it. If luxury e-commerce could follow a similar structure, perhaps it would benefit from the same level of enhanced customer loyalty and exclusivity.

During this recent fashion month, over a dozen luxury brands livestreamed their runway shows from Paris, Milan, and London on Tmall. Balenciaga captured an audience of 1.4 million with its latest catwalk, complete with futuristic sunglasses and a cacophony of screens.

Valentino, which also livestreamed its show, leveraged Tmall’s raffle feature to distribute exclusive gifts, attracting an impressive 23,000 participants. Other brands saw the number of followers and members of their Tmall stores surge by more than tenfold compared to average days, according to Alibaba.

Gucci, an early proponent of the metaverse and Web3 tech, is expanding its digital playbook. On April 3, the Italian maison will unveil a new mixed reality experience via Apple’s widely buzzed Vision Pro.

Headset users will be able to access an augmented edition of Who Is Sabato De Sarno? A Gucci Story, a short film featuring never-before-seen footage from De Sarno's debut Gucci Ancora show in September last year. The documentary originally aired on global streaming platform Mubi on March 15.

As part of the activation, users will be able to curate their own virtual spaces and interact with 3D-products inspired by the Gucci Ancora showcase.

Fashion month holds the potential for brands to lean into technological innovation. But recent efforts have backslid, casting Web3 out of the limelight. Where are brands going wrong?

JD.com, China's top retailer by revenue, announced its decision to invest an additional one billion RMB ($141 million) into its fashion business. Since the beginning of this year, JD Fashion has seen a YoY increase of over five times in new products across hundreds of categories, including men’s and women’s clothing, footwear, and athletic wear.

It seems that brands, even luxury ones, have been keen to jump on board JD.com’s ecommerce train. The platform is set to launch a Balenciaga flagship store on its online platform. The Chinese e-commerce giant will be the only online shop offering the sale of Balenciaga’s newest “stapler” sneaker.

Versace is emerging as an unexpected frontrunner in the Web3 race. Hot on the heels of its augmented reality-powered filter collaboration with Snap, the Italian house has joined forces with Fortnite on a limited-edition activation, designed to bring players closer to its products.

As more luxury brands tap gaming platforms as a promotional vehicle, how are consumer expectations evolving?

Even as fashion’s metaverse moment continues its quiet streak, Coach is embarking on a large-scale project that brings its ‘Find Your Courage’ campaign to metaverse worlds Roblox and Zepeto, starting on 19 July. It celebrated the launch with a party on Wednesday night at its New York Fifth Avenue store, dubbed ‘Coach House’, inviting gaming influencers who have also been tapped to promote the appearances on their socials, along with their gifted physical goods.

Coach will have month-long integrations in Roblox fashion styling experiences Fashion Klossette and Fashion Famous 2, alongside an ongoing experience within Zepeto, where users can buy and wear Coach items developed in collaboration with creator Nova to produce short-form videos that can be posted on Zepeto’s in-game social feed. Both Roblox integrations invite players to compete in styling challenges, including a cross-experience scavenger hunt that rewards players with a virtual Coach piece. People playing the Roblox games can acquire and wear both free and paid-for limited-edition digital Coach apparel.Each experience is inspired by three of the five ‘themes’ that make up the house’s SS24 campaign — colourful world, summer world and floral world in scenes that were inspired by artificial intelligence-generated art.

As luxury brands take a break from their digital roadmaps, Web3-native labels are pushing ahead to keep up the momentum. This week, for example, Syky dropped the second release from its monthly Syky drops series; this time tapping 3D artist and hot collaborator Marc Tudisco.

Virtual fashion platform Rtfkt is also creeping back into the spotlight with its most recent personalization tool for sneakers. In a video released earlier this week, the Nike-acquired brand teased a new add-on feature that allows wearers to customize the front of their shoes. But not everyone is convinced by its utility.

In other news this week, E.L.F. Cosmetics has begun selling its real world products in Roblox, allowing players to purchase their favorite items from an in-game virtual kiosk as opposed to its online e-commerce site. The development marks a watershed moment for the beauty industry in the digital world, but will luxury brands follow its lead?

On June 6, the Alibaba platform launched a trade-in service, allowing consumers to submit information on used luxury items to be appraised and recycled at over 100 luxury brand flagship stores. In return, they can apply the value of their item, along with a subsidy of up to 960 RMB ($134.40), towards a new luxury purchase on the site.

Regardless of its original purchase location, any product is eligible for recycling if it is authenticated and in 90% new condition or better. This policy applies to apparel, bags, jewelry, shoes, and watches from most major luxury brands, including Hermès, Chanel, Dior, and Louis Vuitton.

While sustainable fashion consumption in China has a long way to go, Tmall Luxury Pavilion’s new initiative helps to nurture this habit. Shoppers not only have the opportunity to recoup some of their initial investment on their old luxury items but also receive an additional discount, making it an attractive offer for those seeking the best value amid an economic slowdown.

Chanel has partnered with the Power Station of Art (PSA), a municipal contemporary art museum in Huangpu, Shanghai, to enhance its art chops. The long-term partnership will create the “Gabrielle Chanel Space” and support sustainable restoration and research, aligning Chanel’s heritage of artistic sponsorship with PSA’s mission of innovation and cross-cultural cooperation.

Meanwhile, Albert Oehlen’s works are the latest art pieces to be exhibited at Espace Louis Vuitton Beijing. And finally, LVMH and Alibaba have renewed their e-commerce partnership, demonstrating the power of pairs in China’s online ecosystem.

It covers Alibaba’s cloud technologies and AI-powered retail innovations. The collab will enhance LVMH’s access to a wider range of Alibaba Cloud’s technological capabilities.

With over 30 maisons and divisions in mainland China and Southeast Asia, LVMH is committed to pioneering retail innovation and tech-driven luxury experiences. The partnership aims to boost LVMH’s omni-channel, data, and tech presence in China through Alibaba’s cloud solutions.

LVMH is implementing Alibaba Cloud’s generative AI, including Qwen and Model Studio, to enhance its tech infrastructure.

Dès 2021, LVMH avait annoncé un partenariat avec Google pour "accélérer l'innovation et développer de nouvelles solutions d'intelligence artificielle", notamment dans le domaine de la "prévision de la demande et d'optimisation des stocks". Désormais, au-delà de ces usages d'IA classique, s'appuyant par exemple sur la détection par la machine de tendances dans les données, c'est l'IA "générative" ou "GenIA", qui s'impose.

Capable de formuler des phrases cohérentes et souvent justes, à partir de simples questions ou demandes formulées par un utilisateur, la technologie a connu un coup d'accélérateur avec l'accès libre à ChatGPT du pionnier américain de l'IA, OpenAI, dans lequel Microsoft a investi 13 milliards de dollars.

Synthèse de documents, relation client, gestion des stocks et... source d'inspiration pour ses créateurs: l'intelligence artificielle devient incontournable pour le numéro un mondial du luxe LVMH, qui s'associe pour son développement à des géants comme Google ou Alibaba.

Tech giant Meta recently announced new features for its second generation, AI-powered smart glasses, which launched last September. Starting this week, the product will offer style advice to wearers in the US and UK.

Coined “Meta AI with Vision,” users can look in the mirror and ask the glasses for feedback on their outfit. Additionally, they can prompt the product to recommend garments that would complement a specific item of clothing.

There’s a fundamental shift occurring in how consumers shop. Emerging advancements like virtual try-ons, AI styling bots, Apple’s Vision Pro headset, and Meta’s on-hand assistant indicate a future where smart technology plays a crucial role in the shopping experience, whether it’s at home or in-store.

However, Meta’s wearables are currently encountering challenges in appealing beyond a specific demographic of tech enthusiasts. To reach everyday shoppers, Meta previously utilized the cultural influence of popular fashion influencers to endorse its products, a tactic that effectively increased visibility through algorithms (the fact that Instagram is owned by Meta likely facilitated this). Will the company employ a similar approach to promote its new feature?

Louis Vuitton’s triumph is attributed to its dynamic digital strategy, which included a series of longer-form video content on Douyin, generating over 2.5 million engagements in merely three months. The use of videos highlighted the brand’s diverse fashion categories and runway shows, resonating powerfully with its audience.

Gucci came second, perhaps surprising many who speculated that Sabato de Sarno’s more muted style would fail to attract attention. However, this position underscores that Gucci remains the most relevant luxury brand in Shanghai and the second across all of Asia-Pacific.

Miuccia Prada’s powerhouse status is again cemented with both Prada and Miu Miu moving up at number 4 and 13, respectively. This upward trajectory was also seen at Versace (12), Tod’s (15), Bottega Veneta (27) and Armani (24) in what seems to have been a good season for iconic Italian brands on Chinese socials.

Though Hermès’ slight descent in the rankings stems from its recent venture into Xiaohongshu, industry experts believe the move is part of a planned expansion. This development, in concert with Dior’s foray into e-commerce with a mini-program, underscores a strategic shift by luxury giants to digitally evolve and court new consumers.

Simplifier la vie des stylistes et accélérer le processus créatif en préservant à la fois la créativité et les compétences, c’est ce que propose AiDA. Cette IA est capable de générer « toutes les combinaisons possibles » à partir d’éléments de design (imprimés, motifs, couleurs, croquis) grâce à la reconnaissance d’image. Charge au styliste ensuite de faire le tri pour retenir les meilleures propositions…

Basées sur des algorithmes, les IA génératives ont recours à la data. Elles peuvent compiler très rapidement une multitude d’images et de données collectées en ligne pour créer de nouveaux contenus à partir d’un simple script (« prompt« ). Les perspectives sont alléchantes, mais il y a tout de même quelques inconvénients…

With TikTok boasting over 1 billion monthly active users and Douyin claiming 750 million, the ByteDance-owned short-form video apps are eclipsing their competitors.

But mastering the two platforms is a delicate dance. Douyin, China’s equivalent of TikTok, is emerging as a powerful force in its own right across the mainland, with its own Chinese cultural nuances and local consumer preferences.

To succeed on both channels, a copy-and-paste route isn’t an effective shortcut, emphasizing that they are two distinct entities that were created to serve different markets and audiences.

Wanna, the Farfetch-owned augmented reality (AR) try-on platform founded last year, has expanded its VTO (virtual try-on) solution to handbags. After piloting its technology alongside Valentino last June, the company is scaling up its offerings as consumer demand for better e-commerce experiences swells.