Your D2C Website Is Your Shop Window

Lately, as a company, we've been reviewing the importance of having a really strong website to stand out in the luxury industry and wanted to share some of our findings which we may think can help drive some really positive uplift. The past year saw a huge shift in consumer trends and brands having to adopt a shift in attitude to stay afloat. With the closure of retail, the Digital world became the sole provider for retail therapy, and online shopping trends increased dramatically. However, to sell well online, brands needed to install a level of trust from the consumer, pushing a heavy focus to the website and all things digital. Pre-COVID, buying luxury was simpler. A consumer could walk into a ‘luxury store’ and take something home with them that day. With the in-store purchase came a level of service and premium-ness that you would expect when buying an expensive product, for example, if you decided to purchase a new watch and visited Cartier to do so, upon entrance you’ll be offered a glass of Champagne and the service you receive will follow suit of what you are intending to purchase. As marketers, with the brands that we represent in mind, we had to come up with a way to emulate this on social and digital platforms. When consumers are used to such a high standard of service in-store, they expect the same of a digital experience. Consumers who would destination shop, e.g. head to Sloane Street to visit certain destinations, had that taken away from them when the pandemic hit. No longer could they visit in-store, and so they took their shopping habits online. However, when purchasing online, more thought would likely go into the purchase and more research done around the brand. At 303 we took this new consumer habit in our stride and understood the importance of having a really strong website and Digital presence. How does this consumer shift help us as marketers? Consumers, when shopping online, have more time on their hands. They have time to read the story, explore the benefits, and form their own opinion of the brand. They do this through the website, which is often the first point of contact (likely having landed here from an ad), it’s what we at 303 like to call your own ‘shiny showroom’. Because this ‘shiny showroom’ is the first point of contact for a consumer, it’s more important than ever to make sure that your website is easy to use, engaging, and holds all the relevant information that a consumer might be looking for. This means a smooth User journey and bright creative to mimic what would once have been your jaw-dropping window display and personalised service throughout the store.The consumer has likely landed on your website through one of our paid-advertising strategies, be it Facebook, Instagram, or Google and the website should be an extension of these (and vice versa).So how can you emulate this luxury experience online and what learnings can we take? Websites need to represent the brand, tell its story, but most importantly it needs to feel luxurious. It needs to be easy to use, have high-quality imagery and promote an overall positive user journey.