Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
World Wide Web
(from 1989)
Content
Participation
Virtual Life
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Figure 2.3
The web evolutionary phases and its relationship to the progression
of luxury online indicate that luxury brands have been evolving online at a pace
that is slower than luxury clients, and the connecting lines of the two groups are
yet to meet in the twenty years of the existence of the World Wide Web. The
Internet has gone through four key phases in its evolution and is gearing to enter
its fifth phase in the near future. Luxury brands are therefore required more than
ever to keep up with the pace of the evolution of the Internet
par with established brands without risking being drowned or relegated to
the level of invisibility by the dinosaurs of the luxury world. In addition, the
eternal nature of the Internet also means that users like you and I have a
unique opportunity to enhance our satisfaction level with luxury brands by
making our voices heard and steering the brands in the direction of improved
services in enhancing relationships and experiences. The beauty of the
Internet is that it's a multi-channel with multiple opportunities for success-
fully minimizing the potential risks that it also presents.
The World Wide Web is celebrating twenty years since its creation in
2009 and, although the Internet has been in active existence in this period,
companies are still battling with turning its opportunities into business suc-
cess, particularly in the luxury field. Most of the challenging issues facing
luxury brands online go beyond creating beautiful and flashy websites or
identifying the key to a successful website design. Well, there is no key as it
is an individual matter that depends on the brand and its unique personality.
If there were a key, it would be too easy: the wealthy brands would buy the
key and all their e-business worries would be over; the smaller brands would
struggle to allocate a budget to obtain the key; and I will be out of a job!
Luxury is all about surprising through desire, creativity, innovation and
experience. It is about making a statement and there is no better place to make
a powerful statement than online. The Internet moves at a speed one hundred
times faster than the real world, therefore there is no reason to wait for the
right time to develop a successful online presence. Luxury is already wired up
and now needs to ensure that this online connection is in line with the client.
