Luxury Travel & Lifestyle Trends

I was recently involved in a LinkedIn group discussion on what constitutes “new” luxury. Here’s my “sound bite” on the subject - and feel free to chime in if you agree or disagree:

French born Dr. Clotaire Rapaille, author of the “The Culture Code: An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around the World Live and Buy as They Do” gave a thought provoking talk this week at Miami’s Luxury Marketing Council.

Luxury brands and social media are a combination that has not been a love affair. Some feared diluting their elite and exclusive community. Another concern is that luxury is not just a product, it’s an experience. Consumers need to see and feel luxury with their own eyes and hands. They want first-class service, personalized design and unique touches unavailable elsewhere. This need for a “touch point” is precisely why retail outlets have traditionally been so essential to a luxury brand. It’s not a “feeling” conveyable online.

Want to cash in on positioning the next hot luxury product? Springwise, one of the world’s leading sources of new business ideas, had the best advice I’ve read in a long time…

The choices retailers make in challenging times can pave the way for future success. Cutting costs, centralizing decisions, retrenching are common reactions. But there are also golden opportunities to innovate and leapfrog the competition. When the dust finally clears, the retailers who have used this time wisely to grow will not only survive; they will convert change into opportunity.

How’s this for a nifty twist on an art theme and opening? This week I received an invitation entitled “Come with Your Dog to See Dog Art” from my friend and colleague of many years, Susan Kelley. Susan and her husband Bill Roy own a top advertising agency in Miami and made a part of their office space into an art gallery, the Kelley + Roy Gallery.

A recent survey by WSL Strategic Retail indicates that only 19 percent of pet owners are scrimping on pet spending, with the majority buying not only nice things but top-of-the-line products as well. Turns out, pet supplies are often at the bottom of the cutback list, along with human essentials such as prescription medications and toothpaste.

Think twice when it comes to communication: becoming more efficient (as in email) may mean becoming less effective. This is more than a clever play on words; it’s an important issue that every business owner must address. This is especially so in the luxury industry, where we are trying to maintain value, quality and customer loyalty in the toughest of times.

As the luxury sector struggles to make gains (like everyone else), marketers are trying to put a positive spin on an unpopular topic – luxury. Quiet elegance is the mandate of the day and it’s a jungle out there trying to figure out how to market luxury tastefully. And who can argue when luxury is tied to a charitable cause?

Who said money can’t buy friendship? Or followers? More and more companies are using social media to interact with customers and build a loyal online community every day. Retailers and travel industry suppliers alike are cleverly utilizing social networking sites by offering exclusive deals to fans, friends and followers.