Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The social web phenomenon and the revolution it has brought about
through giving a voice to the people and making any and everyone a potential
brand evangelist, judge, opinion-leader, influencer, advocator or destroyer
has also led to a change in the luxury client. Today, the luxury client is not
only savvy and demanding, but is also bold, assertive and powerful enough
to steer thousands of others in favor of or against a luxury brand through the
unprecedented tools of the social media. Blogs, social networks, discussion
platforms and all manner of user-to-user communities have produced a glo-
bal flock of citizen journalists whose opinions are causing constant change
in the way luxury is viewed and perceived by entire generations. This wave
has also led to behavior change in the way consumers relate to luxury both in
the real world and in the virtual world. They have become product and serv-
ices savvy and have also become masters of technology who call the shots in
their online experiences and transfer these into expectations in their offline
interactions with luxury brands.
What these changes and the current climate have produced is a set of
contradictions and paradoxes linked to who the current luxury client has
become today and what their real profile looks like. On the one hand, luxury
clients have shown traits of ongoing enthusiasm for luxury offerings while,
on the other hand, signs of “luxury fatigue” are apparent. Some parties are
even saying that luxury is dead and that the word “luxury” shouldn't be pro-
nounced anymore. I personally think that this claim is quite ridiculous. And
even luxury clients don't believe that luxury is dead.
Luxury is not dead. My opinion is that luxury is just no longer under-
stood. This has arisen from too many people who don't have the culture
of luxury currently having access to luxury, therefore rendering it banal.
If you've heard the story of the young wealthy Chinese businessman who
guzzles down his McDonald's cheeseburger with a bottle of Dom Perignon
champagne in a glass cup just because he can afford to buy it, you'll see what
I mean. Do we say, in this case, that champagne is dead? Of course not.
What we need to do is to educate the young man and open his eyes to the
understanding that champagne is not consumed with cheeseburger and that
it should be poured in a tilted flute, which is held by its stem before being
drunk.
If a portrait were to be painted of today's luxury consumer, it would fea-
ture the following characteristics:
1.
Smart and savvy
. Luxury clients no longer buy into the type of luxury
portrayed by non-genuine brands that claim the luxury status for quick
returns. Today's client can smell brands that don't live up to the luxury
qualities from miles away.
2.
Informed and knowledgeable
. With instant access to digital information,
the luxury client of today has the ins and outs of luxury brands at his or
her fingertips. The surprise element has been suppressed and the client is
