What: Euromonitor’s take on the winning strategy for luxury brands in the post-covid world.

Why it is important: The message in between the lines is clear: department stores need to significantly invest in data management and sharing with luxury brands if they want to remain in the game, given that everything is enticing said brands to go direct (at least in the physical world).

According to Euromonitor, luxury and fashion are set for a strong rebound post-pandemic, thanks to a pent-up demand and domestic consumption, which will be even more fuelled once destinations open up again. We need to remember that this industry was among the hardest-hit ones during the pandemic, due to the global travel shutdown. Euromonitor mentions 4 key trends to watch:

• Digitalisation, which is expected to accelerate throughout the retail supply chain to speed up production and lower overall costs, plus of course allow brands to become more expert at analysing customer data. The top 10 technologies expected to impact fashion and luxury are (from the less mentioned to the most): blockchain, biometrics, robotics, cloud, geolocalisation, QR codes, 5G, IOT, AR & VR and the most important, AI and big data analytics,
• Wellness, linked to the focus on physical and emotional well-being after the anxiety induced by the Covid-19 pandemic, which should favour athleisure and outdoor clothing brands,
• Experience, by being where the customer is, across all channels,
• Sustainability, as brands are looking to recover from the pandemic in a more sustainable manner than offered by the previous volume-oriented model, all the more than customers are expecting luxury and fashion companies to care beyond revenue and to build back better.

In conclusion, according to Euromonitor, winning strategies for luxury brands are to be omnipresent (via a seamless experience across all physical and digital touchpoints), to embrace new ways of selling (as the wholesale model is under threat and the rise in e-commerce is challenging old principles, including the role of the retailer), investigate new technologies (to stay competitive) and put the customer first.

Euromonitor Luxuryand Fashion report