LVMH digital struggle. Personal shopping potential within luxury groups.
Upd: I had this post in my drafts for quite some time. Today, I received an email that 24S, which I mentioned in the context of personal shopping, is closing its concierge service. Following LVMH e-commerce journey, it’s clear to me that the group is struggling to master its online presence. Partially may be explained by scale, apart from that using obvious and general methods doesn’t work in luxury.
This applies not only to 24S, which I’m sure is dragging down the group’s performance, but also to the online presence of its most prominent brands — about some of the gaps I wrote before (here I’m referring to Fashion & Leather Goods, Perfumes & Beauty, and Selective Retailing, as I’m not entirely familiar with the other divisions).
Personal shopping: A luxury gap
In the latest edition of 2Jour Gazette, I wrote an extensive article on luxury sanctions in Russia. I mentioned there Financial Times article about personal shoppers as the crucial link between luxury brands and customers in Russia, adding details about how they operate.
Personal shopping is an untapped field that the #luxury industry is overlooking. Personal shoppers (independent of any particular brand) are popular not only in Russia but also in Asia, the United States, the Middle East, and, to a lesser extent, Europe and the UK.
Previously, I highlighted the potential of collaborating with or controlling personal shopping services:
1) Strengthening client relationships
Not everyone enjoys/has time for shopping (some even hire assistants to shop on their behalf), and not everyone has the opportunity to purchase desired items in boutiques or online (for example, if the item is only available in another country). For luxury groups, this is an excellent opportunity to keep customers engaged within the group's ecosystem, bringing together different brands that adapt equally well to a client’s changing interests or status.
Having one trusted person to approach with any request simplifies the shopping experience significantly and fosters loyalty. This person knows your preferences inside and out, informs you of updates, and makes shopping seamless.
2) Boosting sales
This naturally follows from the first point.
I once wrote about an experiment with personal shopping timidly implemented by 24S, which belongs to LVMH. However, over a year after launching their updated personal shopping program, I still find it lacking in terms of content quality and communication methods.
Interestingly, their VIP client newsletters include brands not represented on 24S (or minimally represented) and not owned by LVMH — such as Chanel, Hermès, Balemciaga, Bottega Veneta, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, De Beers Group, Tiffany & Co., Jaeger-LeCoultre, Chopard, Baccarat, Lalique and so on. The selections span womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, and lifestyle items. Recently, there was featured a special hospitality offer from Le Collectionist.
Both e-commerce giants Net-a-Porter and Mytheresa also have personal shoppers, but their VIP client selections are limited to items currently available or soon to be available on their respective platforms.
If I were given the authority within a group or brand structure, I would definitely create such a service.
For a large-scale group, it would be more advantageous to develop such a service as a controlled structure
For independent brands, it might make sense to consider partnerships with other brands or to join the personal shopping service portfolio of a large-scale group on mutually beneficial terms.
