The document summarizes findings from a 2014 benchmarking study conducted by Luxury Interactive. Key findings include:
- 83% of respondents reported annual online revenues of less than $50 million.
- Most respondents saw increases in key online metrics like conversion rates and customer repeat visits over the past year.
- Most companies plan to invest in SEO, SEM, display advertising, personalization and email over the next 12-18 months.
- Nearly half of marketing budgets are spent on ecommerce, online and digital initiatives.
2. 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ..................................................2
Research Findings..............................3-11
About Luxury Interactive.....................12
About WBR Digital..................................12
Introduction
Creating digital brand awareness, and adapting to consumers’ preferences continues to be
at the forefront of marketing campaigns for luxury brands. The C-suite at luxury brands is
finally acknowledging it is imperative to survive by offering more product online to compete
in the global eCommerce space. Luxury brands must connect digitally with their consumer via
personal touch as the consumer continues to turn to their “online” peers for opinions.
As such, now more than ever, dollars are being poured into technology to cater to—and
target—the online consumer.
Luxury Interactive has created the 2013 Benchmarking Study to further evaluate current
online retail and digital opportunities for luxury brands and professionals. This report
contains evaluations and insights of the 150 participants from the annual Luxury Interactive
conference held in September 2013. Professionals from companies such as Saks Fifth
Avenue, David Yurman, Viceroy Hotel, and more contributed to the survey’s results.
To Your Success,
Megan Kessler
Event Director, Luxury Interactive
@LuxInteractive
2014 Luxury Interactive Benchmarking Study
3. 3
QUESTION 1:
83% said
<50
million
QUESTION 2:
What are your online revenues annually?
Looking at my online business in 2012-2013...
Conversion rates:
84% Increased
12% Decreased
4% Stayed the same
3% >150 million annual online revenue
14% 50-150 million annual online revenue
83% <50 million annual online revenue
Customerrepeatvisits:
73% Increased
15% Decreased
12% Stayed the same
Average order value:
88% Increased
0% Decreased
12% Stayed the same
84%
0 20 40 60 80 100
12%
4%
73%
88%
0%
15%
12%
12%
4. 4
QUESTION 3:
Please pick all the areas where you plan
to invest in ecommerce tech within the
next 12-18 months:
QUESTION 4:
What percent of the marketing budget
at your company is spent on eCommerce,
online and digital?
0 20 40 60 80 100
83%
77%
63%
63%
83%
47%
60%
33%
57%
63%
53%
50%
53%
60%
50%
63%
SEM
SEO
Display Advertising
Personalization/Website
Email
Mobile (apps)
Mobile (site design)
Global Solutions
Social Engagement
Online Video
Multi-Channel Initiatives
Content Management/eCommerce Platform
Merchandising and Visualization
Web Analytics/Data Management
Usability/Testing/User Experience
CRM Systems
“With luxury brands’ interest in building seamless, correlating
CRM touchpoints, it is evident brands want to take CRM
data and build a targeted approach with e-mail and SEM
communications.”
– Megan Kessler, Event Director, Luxury Interactive
*Percentages not meant to add up to 100%. Respondents may select more than one option.
46% said
More
than
10%
0 20 40 60 80 100
27% 0-5 %
19% 5-10%
46% More than 10%
8% We are an eCommerce only retailer
5. 5
QUESTION 5:
Has your investment in digital initiatives
increased or decreased in the last
12 months?
QUESTION 6:
For you mobile strategy, which of the following do
you have in place (or plan to have in place this year)?
97% said
Investment
in digital
initiatives
increased.
0
20
40
60
80
100
97% Investment in digital initiatives increased
3% Investment in digital initiatives decreased
82% Mobile Optimized Website
46% Mobile Application
50% Mobile Optimized Email
0
20
40
60
80
100
82%
46%
50%
Renaud Dutreil, former chairman of LVMH, recently said he sees a desire among
the wealthy to be seen as “billionaire nomads.” If luxury brands are mobile-ready,
they are able to be in the hands of the consumer anywhere, at anytime.
*Percentages not meant to add up to 100%. Respondents may select
more than one option
6. 6
QUESTION 7:
Are you satisfied with the results of your
mobile initiatives (to date)?
QUESTION 8:
How are you using social media?
54% said
YES
0
20
40
60
80
100
54% Yes, they are satisfied with the results of their mobile initiatives
42% No, they are not satisfied with the results of their mobile initiatives
4% NotSure,iftheyaresatisfiedwiththeresultsoftheirmobileinitiatives
93% Engagement
87% PR
53% Customer Service
0
20
40
60
80
100 93%
87%
53% 50%
60%
“[Social Media] bring benefits because we are speaking directly to our customers in real
time. People believe they’re talking to the [Tommy Hilfiger] persona, not the brand.”
– Tommy Hilfiger, Principal and Founder, Tommy Hilfiger Group (Financo, 2014)
*Percentages not meant to add up to 100%. Respondents may select
more than one option
50% Sales
60% Advertising
7. 7
QUESTION 9:
Has your spend on social media
marketing increased or decreased?
QUESTION 10:
Does your company have a CMO that
oversees both online and offline marketing
initiatives/spend/investment?
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
74%
67%
56%
59%
48%
52%
22%
19%
15%
19%
11%
15%
Overall
*Percentages equal number of times each category was
selected in total, divided by the number of respondents
total, eg. 74% of all of the respondents have increased
their overall social media marketing spend whereas 22%
of respondents have decreased their overall social media
marketing spend
71% said
NO
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
29% Yes, their company has a CMO that oversees both online and
offline marketing initiatives/spend investment
71% No, their company does not have a CMO that oversees both
online and offline marketing initiatives/spend investment
Increased Decreased
8. 8
QUESTION 11:
Do you have a VP of eCommerce?
QUESTION 12:
What percent of your overall sales is done
through digital channels? (check only one)
53% said
NO
74% said
of overall sales
is done through
digital channels
0-15%
47% Yes, we have a VP of eCommerce
53% No, we do not have a VP of eCommerce
74% 0-15% of overall sales through digital channels
7% 15-30% of overall sales through digital channels
11% 30-45% of overall sales through digital channels
4% 45-60% of overall sales through digital channels
0% 60-75% of overall sales through digital channels
0% 75-90% of overall sales through digital channels
4% 90%+ of overall sales through digital channels
9. 9
QUESTION 13:
As an organization, are you trying to adopt
more strategies that mimic those of mass
market retailers?
QUESTION 14:
When evaluating new digital tech partners,
how long does it take for your company to
make a decision?
0
10
20
30
40
50
42%
8%
50%
42% Yes, they are trying to adopt more strategies that mimic those of mass
market retailers
8% Maybe, they are trying to adopt more strategies that mimic those of mass
market retailers
50% No, they are not trying to adopt more strategies that mimic those of mass
market retailers
41% Weeks to a couple of months
48% 3-6 months
11% Longer than 6 months
48% said
3-6
months
0
10
20
30
10. 10
QUESTION 15:
What most affects your speed of decision?
(check only one)
QUESTION 16:
Are you currently hiring?
44% said
Measured
ROI
54% said
NO
44% Measured ROI
28% Ease of Implementation
28% Slow internal Management Process for Evaluation
46% Yes, they are currently hiring
54% No, they are not currently hiring
11. 11
QUESTION 17:
If yes, areas are you hiring for?
(check all that apply)
0 10 20 30 40 50
Strategy/Leadership/Exec Team
Marketing Analytics
Paid Search
Social Media
CRM
Email
SEO
Mobile
40%
50%
20%
40%
50%
50%
30%
0%
*Percentages not meant to add up to 100%. Respondents may select more than one option.
The majority of participants are hiring
for Marketing Analytics, CRM and
Email positions.
“At Luxury Interactive, we found that
there was really rich information in terms
of digital trends and what is going on in
that space for luxury brands.”
– Michelle Peranteau, Director,
Marketing & Communications, Baume & Mercier
“[Luxury Interactive] is a well-organized
unique conference that presented
insightful topics and good networking
opportunities with an alluring cross
section of retail brands.”
- Stephen Carl, Director, eCommerce, Lafayette 148 New York
12. 12
About Luxury Interactive
About WBR Digital
Luxury Interactive allows eBusiness and marketing
executives to hear speakers openly illustrate risks taken
and ideas tested with their brands that has ultimately
shown a significant payoff in both customers engaged
and profits realized. Luxury Interactive invigorated those who attended 2013, leaving them wanting more, and
excited for what 2014 will deliver. By being a part of the Luxury Interactive community, you are able network
with your peers and identify strategies to successfully drive and achieve your brand’s objectives.
Luxury Interactive is the premier—and only—luxury branding and digital conference. Now entering its 8th year,
the annual conference brings together luxury brand marketing and eCommerce executives, innovators and
thought leaders, who offer insights and solutions for the most pressing issues facing the industry.
WBR is the world’s biggest large-scale conference company and part of
the PLS group, one of the world’s leading providers of strategic business
intelligence with 16 offices worldwide. Our conference divisions
consistently out-perform their industry sector competitors on the quality of the events we produce and the
relationships we nurture with both attendees and sponsors.
Every year over 10,000 senior executives from Fortune 1,000 companies attend over 100 of our annual
conferences – a true “Who’s Who” of today’s corporate world. From Automotive events in Bucharest to
Logistics conferences in Arizona to Luxury conferences in New York and Finance summits in Hong Kong, WBR is
dedicated to exceeding the needs of its customers around the world.
In addition to our industry leading conferences, our professional services marketing division, WBR Digital
connects solution providers to their target audiences with year-round online branding and engagement lead
generation campaigns. WBR’s marketers act as an extension of your team relieving strain on your internal
resources while promoting your brand and solutions to your prospects. Solution providers can target identified
accounts or relevant industry/function segments of WBR’s entire global database of over 500K senior-level
decision makers.
We invite you to join
us at the 2014 Luxury
Interactive Conference
inOctoberinManhattan.
Formoreinformation,please
visit www.LuxuryInt.com
and follow us on Twitter at
@LuxInteractive