Focusing solely on digital experience and customer acquisition when targeting luxury shoppers could be leading marketers to make expensive mistakes, says Rakuten Marketing.

These are some insights uncovered in our recent Shopper Profiles report, which identifies four data-led shopping profiles and behaviours that will drive fashion, luxury, beauty and travel purchases in 2017.

Uk shopper profiles blog post image

Rakuten Marketing’s report uncovers four data-led shopping profiles 

Euromonitor’s latest data suggests the luxury industry will experience disappointing growth as tough global trading environments restrict progress in both key emerging and developed markets.

In light of this, here’s what we uncovered about luxury shoppers – and how to market to them to keep driving growth in challenging times.

In-store is still their favourite place to purchase

Our data reveals that less than 1% of luxury shoppers will actually complete their purchase digitally. Therefore, neglecting the offline experience is dangerous for marketers.

Retailers must ensure they deliver a consistent and rich online experience across multiple channels and devices that encourages luxury shoppers towards the physical point of sale.

Repeat purchasers are where the true value lies

In the UK, luxury shoppers increase their expenditure per visit by 11% on average over their first five purchases, showing us they are willing to spend more each time.

This means that retailers concentrating on customer acquisition alone are missing out on the potential value to be had by nurturing these shopper types.

In the UK, luxury shoppers increase their expenditure per visit by 11% on average over their first five purchases

Data from our insights and attribution platform reveals that customers who purchase via shopping publishers become the most loyal returning customers for UK luxury fashion brands. Across Q3 and Q4 2016, four out of five customers acquired through shopping publishers in Q3 continued to spend with the brands in Q4.

What this means for your marketing activity

Our data reveals that encouraging repeat purchases to increase customer lifetime value is where the real rewards can be gained from luxury shoppers.

However, this can only be achieved by having a transparent view of the user journey. This allows you to identify the combination of channels and tactics to encourage luxury shoppers to return again and again.

Our data shows that shopping publishers help to attract repeat purchasers

Our data shows that shopping publishers help to attract repeat purchasers, and therefore an affiliate programme featuring these – among others – would likely be a recommended strategy.

Choosing the channel mix for your campaign based on data, rather than being led by assumptions, will help you to avoid making expensive marketing mistakes.

 

James collins Rakuten Marketing

James Collins is Rakuten Marketing’s senior vice-presient of global product strategy – attribution. James has championed the use of performance marketing data in the digital sector over the last decade. As well as a sound understanding of technology,  James has strong people and change management skills, which he has used to deliver proven value from Rakuten Marketing’s attribution technology, advocating open access to attribution data and helping grow the business effectively. As SVP of global product strategy, James is responsible for leading Rakuten Marketing’s value proposition team. This team works with the regional businesses to use data-driven intelligence and core messaging to position products for success, and works with tech and product teams to deliver the next generation of digital marketing products. You can follow Rakuten Marketing on Twitter or connect with James on LinkedIn.