Covid-19 has not been kind to industries, and it had a widespread impact on luxury retail as well. From offline to online and now back to in-store retail, the pandemic put a decade’s worth of digital innovation into a single year, giving rise to a surge of online methods of operations. One of them was luxury retail’s shift to digital platforms. The luxury retail segment had already started foraying into the virtual world but the change wasn’t an organised shift industry-wide. Many still preferred the experience of shopping in a store. Gitanjali Saxena, Business Head, Tata CLiQ Luxury told LuxeBook,“Before the pandemic, in-store shopping for luxury was often a preferred option. However, even back then, consumers did explore online shopping for luxury due to limited access to the brands and luxury malls in the country. It was in its early stages, and since the pandemic, it has become an equally popular channel for shopping luxury products.” But the unexpected hit of the global pandemic put many luxury retailers on the back foot urging them to change the way the industry works. This meant a somewhat forced shift to online mediums to sustain sales. Indian couturiers were also amongst those who launched websites, including Amit Aggarwal and Gaurav Gupta, to name a few. But once retails stores opened, customers indulged in retail therapy in abundance. However, it’s interesting to note that many of the privileged did spend a great deal of time shopping online, whether Indian couture or western wear, simply to window shop and hope to get dressed when the pandemic settled. Retailers and brands shifted their focus to online customer experiences and set up new approaches to provide consumers a seamless experience — from websites to smartphone screens. Although some luxury giants like LVMH-owned Fendi even shut down its only store in India, other online multi-designer brands like LeMill, Farfetch and Luxepolis gained more traction. Some designers launched websites such as the likes of Payal Khandwala, Aakaro, JJ Valaya, Ellie Saab, Amit Aggarwal and more. In India,many customers were faced with trouble accessing international brands given the travel restrictions and it is at this time that they looked to Indian designers, and multi-designer agents like Luxepolis, Darveys and Tata Cliq Luxury who brought to India these labels. According to a report by Bain, the luxury apparel and accessories consignment grew to a $24 billion market before Covid and has been projected to reach $51 billion by 2023. Further, Kearney’s report states that despite demand for luxury products plummeting at the onset of the pandemic, the luxury goods market has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels—and in some cases beyond. Many leading brands have seen their sales figures rebounding rapidly to pre-pandemic levels. It is predicted that the global luxury apparel market will recoup its losses and will grow to $149.2 billion in 2022, says GlobalData. As luxury retail picks up again, LuxeBook spoke to Vijay KG, Founder, Luxepolis, Gitanjali Saxena, Business Hybrid across huge experience stores and digital platforms, luxury brands seek to provide a new shopping high to India’s millionaires BY ARUSHI SAKHUJA A new luxury retail experience Head, Tata CLiQ Luxury and Abhishek Agarwal, Founder, Purple Style Labs. Pandemic spurred online sales The luxury sector is being increasingly reshaped by online sales and the digitalisation of the consumers’ entire shopping experience. Moreover, even in the future we can expect an increase in luxury e-commerce with online sales for personal luxury goods expected to reach 25 per cent by 2025, as opposed to 8 per cent in 2018. In addition to traditional luxury products, digital assets and the virtual world—the metaverse, social media and gaming—will play an increasingly relevant role in luxury brands value propositions. According to Bain by the end of 2030, digital assets and the metaverse will comprise 5-10% of the luxury market. The pandemic forced brands that were reluctant to sell online to fully embrace e-commerce, which may become the leading channel for luxury purchases in the next few years. “Online sales jumped manifolds during the pandemic,” said Vijay KG, founder of online luxury marketplace, Luxepolis, which has made a strong digital and online presence since its inception in late 2014. Owing to this, the company was not faced with many difficulties given the rise of multiple e-commerce portal. However, it was a trying time, and it wasn’t without its challenges, says Vijay. Prioritising customer satisfaction remained a top priority for the brand to overcome challenges faced by clients. Executives from Luxepolis conducted video calls and live commerce experiences. In some cases when the clients allowed, they also sent the products to their residences. While the company had to put their offline expansion projects and investments on hold, the bright side was that online transactions increased. Vijay further shared, “ Online retail is here to stay and grow.” To accelerate the growth and make the experience more fruitful for consumers, he shares a list of developments the company is currently working on.... “We are investing in Augmented Reality (AR), Artificial Intelligence (AI) Gitanjali Saxena, Business Head, Tata CLiQ Luxury Abhishek Agarwal, Founder, The Purple Style Labs Online sales have boosted profit from luxury retailers. LUXURY RETAIL 42|L U X E B O O K|O C T O B E R 2 0 2 2 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 2 |L U X E B O O K|43
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