The luxury industry is witnessing a shift toward younger, digital-savvy consumers who have higher expenditure on luxury goods. Luxury brands need to address dissatisfaction with the digital experience by improving e-commerce operations, enhancing customer interactions, and adopting a more comprehensive approach to meet customers’ evolving expectations.
Millennial and Gen Z consumers outspent older consumers for the first time, with expenditures valued at € 210 million compared to € 190 million by older consumers. This generational shift is expected to have a crucial impact on the industry in the coming years.
The survey by BCG, titled True-Luxury Global Consumer Insight, emphasised that luxury labels have been slow to digitalise, especially in e-commerce. Less than half of luxury goods consumers reported satisfaction with the digital performance of luxury brands, and only a small number of labels received positive feedback on their online experience.
Customer satisfaction in physical stores for luxury brands remains high, but the divide narrows in the e-commerce channel. Luxury e-shops have a customer satisfaction level that is only 0.8 times higher than that of mass-market chains. The dissatisfaction with the digital experience is particularly prominent among younger generations, especially in Europe, with one in five luxury Gen Z customers expressing unhappiness with their online experience.
The main weaknesses highlighted by consumers include purchasing and payment security, access speed, product availability, clear size indications, and communication of product benefits and features. The survey suggests that luxury brands need to expand their approach beyond measuring e-commerce performance and recognize that consumers seamlessly transition between physical and virtual touchpoints.
