Luxe E-commerce Still Lacks Some Savvy

In 2010, mobile shopping activity began to have a noticeable influence on ecommerce sales. Shopping-related Google searches from mobile devices were up 230% by mid December, reported Internet Retailer. With this in mind, consider this eye-opener: Among 72 of our best-known luxury brands, none bother with user reviews, even though they are now catnip to most prospective buyers. That’s according to Luxury Lab, a New York think tank for digital innovation. Its recent “Digital IQ Index: Luxury” reviewed websites, social media, digital marketing and mobile apps of 72 luxe vendors. Findings?  Besides the lack of user reviews, just three offer live chat, and only two let Facebook fans “like” them. Among all 72, only five engage in a “commerce-enabled mobile experience.”

“We could not have been more wrong in our expectations of the internet,” Alex Bolen, chief executive of Oscar de la Renta, recently told The Economist. The news? An online order from one new customer for an $80,000 sable coat.

Luxury brands always viewed return-on-investment as a sales barometer, but they must now look closely at potential online revenue. Just today, Bluefly.com reported a 17 percent year-over-year increase in profits that the company’s CEO claims is indicative of an increased spending pattern among luxury consumers that are out of “frugality fatigue.” The retailer expects this momentum to keep going for a while, especially where ecommerce destinations are concerned.

Entrepreneurs are so sure that the affluent market is ready for seven figure art sales online that the VIP Art Fair  debuted earlier this year – an online only auction featuring some of the world’s most prestigious galleries and artists.

For more trends to watch in 2011, please visit our latest Luxury Travel and Lifestyle Trends 2011 newsletter.