Few sectors were more shaken by the events of the last two years than the luxury brand world.

The sector was buffeted by a collapse in areas like travel retail and department stores and endured a dramatic change in consumer behaviors and occasions. Usage and shopping across the worlds of beauty, fashion, premium spirits and other brands in the luxury goods market contracted by as much as 25%-45% from 2019 to 2020.

While the pandemic was certainly a historic shock to the luxury goods sector, the shock also came with an industrywide total commerce revolution. Here, winning with shoppers requires the delivery of seamless online and offline brand experiences for customers across an omnichannel journey, and where the connection point is both an opportunity for brand engagement and a critical opportunity to drive purchase. Building the content for holistic customer journey is how Tag helps retail and shopper brands.

Here are five principles consumer brands can adopt from the luxury sector to successfully deliver a total commerce experience.

Think experience, not just product

Luxury brands aren’t just selling products, they are also selling an opportunity to momentarily slip into an “out of reach” world. 

While this has always been true in their marketing, the rise of digital technologies has created a multitude of new ways to deliver luxury experiences. The most iconic luxury brands such as Burberry and Gucci are leading the charge into a world of digital brand experiences, including AI-driven CRM personalization, augmented reality and even gamification—not to mention the future potential for these luxury brands to enter the metaverse.

Communicate your commitment to good

Any brand hoping to win with the millennial and Gen Z shopper needs to embrace purpose—this is even truer for luxury brands.

The millennial shopper will soon account for the majority of all luxury purchases and brands wishing to earn their loyalty need to authentically do good in the world. Across the industry we are seeing a huge focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and marketing. Brands like Tiffany & Co. and Stella McCartney are leading the industry into a more sustainable, socially responsible place and are being rewarded by this generation of shopper.

Be selective about the environments you enter

Where you choose to not be is just as important as where you choose to be. Building luxury brands means making the choice to not be in a channel or specific store environments that don’t deliver enough of a premium experience.

The industry reset has provided luxury brands and retailers with a unique opportunity to realign their distribution strategies. The story of the great downsizing of the department store channel has many villains but, at its heart, is also a story about a channel not staying true to its core.

Be less pervasive, and more persuasive

Luxury beauty brands that focus on shopper environments where they showcase their affluent positioning correctly are succeeding. To create ideal brand experiences means thinking holistically about the customer journey, online to offline and back again.  

2022 will see a refocus on brands launching flagship stores as a response to total commerce. A visit to concept stores like Chanel’s Paris flagship store or L’Occitane’s 555 New York City store can help you understand how the flagship experience transports the shopper into a world of both physical and digital brand experiences.

Unlock your intangible brand assets

Iconic luxury brands understand that sometimes saying less is saying more. Just the hint of an iconic logo, color or single design feature is enough for instant shopper recognition, especially in a digital or virtual world.

In May 2021, the Roblox platform hosted the virtual Gucci Garden Exhibition where players could view and purchase limited edition, digital versions of real Gucci products. The exhibition both rapidly ran out of stock. Incredibly, one of the items, the digital Gucci Dionysus handbag, resold for $4,100 ($700 higher than the real item).

In 2022, expect to see a luxury brands continue to enter the metaverse. But this virtual world isn’t just for them—retail brands can prepare for their own entry into the metaverse by trademarking their logos and digitizing their products now.