Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
jewelry, clothes, accessories and gifts. She has been shopping at the stores
of her favourite brands Valentino, Dior, Armani and Louis Vuitton for years
but she is eager to discover new brands in addition to yearning for something
new from the “old league”. After looking through current issues of several
fashion magazines and identifying some models of clothes and accessories
that she likes, she decides to use the Internet to find out their availability and
obtain more information about colors and sizes. She also intends to investi-
gate the current collections of her favorite brands and at the same time find
other designers and trends. Her goal is to have an idea of what her wardrobe
would look like upon her return.
She logs on to the websites of the brands she is familiar with and after a
few clicks she is disappointed that she couldn't find many of the models she
had chosen in the magazine on the brands' websites. The few websites that
had her preferences however didn't provide any information about the colors,
sizes, prices and store availability of the products. In addition, the websites she
visited all looked similar, presenting endless videos and slide shows of the run-
way shows, product photos, some flash animation and sound. She was unable
to find any information about the products and how they could be worn, com-
bined, styled or cleaned. Although she didn't care so much about the price, it
would also have been helpful to obtain their prices online.
By the time she clicks on the fifth website she has become bored with
the similarity of the websites and she decides to switch to media websites
like Vogue or Elle - at least they would offer variety in content if nothing
else. She discovers from an editorial feature in one of the magazines that
Christian Lacroix has recently launched a new collection for La Redoute.
She had never heard of La Redoute and decides to check out the collection
through the web link, www.christianlacroixpourlaredoute.com. The website
concept and design, which is based on a virtual fantasyland, immediately
captivates her so much that she didn't realize that she had spent nearly an
hour browsing the entire collection and taking notes of the pieces she would
buy in Paris. At the end of her visit, she had two pages of product references
and she was one step closer to being a fulfilled customer in Paris. Her pre-
shopping was finished for the day. Mission accomplished.
What Laila was looking for was more than information. She wanted an
experience that would reinforce her belief in these brands and ensure that she
remains loyal to them. She was as much interested in the content (new col-
lections and information) as the brand universe created through the ambience
of the website or what I prefer to call the luxemosphere (see next section).
Laila wanted an experience from the luxury brands' websites and she only
got this from Christian Lacroix's special collection website. Even Lacroix's
own independent website failed to provide this experience, as did that of La
Redoute, although the latter is not a luxury brand. But Laila was already
hooked on the collaboration website and she surely planned to revisit. Let's
not forget that online consumers are more website loyal than brand loyal.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search