Affluent Luxury Shoppers Head Online Through Computers And Mobile Devices

Affluent Consumers and How They Use the Internet, Social Media and Mobile Devices:  an in-depth profile of the luxury online consumer.

 

Meanwhile young affluent luxury shoppers reach more often for their smartphones to connect and learn. 

If the recent recession brought with it marketer anxiety about finding, maintaining, and selling to an increasingly-skittish customer base, then the 'internet revolution' was the silver lining in the dark economic cloud.

A new survey from Unity Marketing found that four out of five affluent luxury shoppers logged online in the past three months from their desktop or laptop computer to make a purchase, shop for a gift, or research a product or service.

Mobile devices are increasingly important for brands to connect with young affluent fashion customers, aged 24-44, who use mobile apps at a rate two-times higher than mature affluents, 45-70.

According to new trend report from Unity Marketing, Affluent Consumers and How They Use the Internet, Social Media and Mobile Devices:  an in-depth profile of the luxury online consumer, in the past year the internet has become an even more powerful medium with which to connect with the affluent shopper in search of luxury goods and services. 

In only a year, the percentage of luxury shoppers that made a purchase online in the past three months rose from 68 percent to 83 percent, based upon surveys fielded among affluent consumers in January 2010 and 2011. This interest in shopping online is particularly acute for those in the slightly more mature 35-54 age group, perhaps a surprise to those who think of the internet as the province of the young.

"This finding is a particular boon for luxury marketers," says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and lead researcher in the new investigation of how affluents use the internet. Luxury marketers must embrace the internet as a 24/7 opportunity to sell, to provide information, and to form relationships, all without the overhead associated with a bricks-and-mortar store."

Young affluents connect via mobile devices

The new trend report also finds that younger affluents, age 24-44, are twice as likely as mature affluents, age 45-70, to use their smartphones to form relationships with people, companies, and brands.  Ranking as affluents' most popular use of mobile devices is to connect with friends on a social networking site, with researching restaurants and getting news and information about local businesses and events as the second and third most important ways affluents use mobile devices in their luxury lifestyles. 

Young affluent luxury shoppers may not be doing a great deal of purchasing via their mobile devices yet, but these devices facilitate spending plans made on the go, with tools like restaurant and shop locators, movie schedules, and patron reviews of events and destinations," says Danziger.  "Our research indicates that marketers who provide information in a mobile-accessible form, such as by a smartphone app, have a leg up in reaching those customers when they are out and about with plans to eat, shop and attend events.

Luxury marketers can no longer depend on the in-store ambiance to create the experience of shopping for a luxury brand or service.  Rather, they need to create the kind of robust, 24/7, mobile experience that reaches the consumer where they are.  Our new report takes this powerful new research data and translates it into actionable recommendations that will help marketers make their online and mobile presence every bit as luxurious as their flagship store.

New trend report shows you how  affluents use the internet, social media and mobile devices in their luxury lifestyles 

Today's luxury marketer may never see his or her best customer.  Instead, many affluent consumers rely on the internet to investigate brands, form connections and make purchases.  As they do, they are turning the world of marketing luxury upside down.

To better understand the online shopping landscape, Unity Marketing conducted a new survey of 1,237 affluent consumers from January 6-13, 2011 (avg. income $308,700; age 43.9 yrs; 42 percent male/58 percent female) who use the internet, social media, and -- new this year -- mobile devices.  The results of which are compared with a similar survey conducted in January 2010 among an equally affluent sample.

It answers these critical questions about today's online environment so that luxury marketers can develop their online marketing strategies, including how best to use social media for building their brand and how to tap the rising power of mobile apps to connect with the affluent shopper:

• How often do affluent consumers use the Internet in support of luxury goods and services purchases, what do they buy online, how much do they spend?

• And key for marketers today, how the affluent luxury shoppers are accessing luxury online -- via computers or mobile; through company websites, social media or through mobile apps?

• When do they turn to the Internet and why they use it?

• What are their favorite luxury websites and what specifically do they value about their favorite websites?

• How do affluent luxury shoppers use social media to learn about luxury brands, share information about luxury brands, and connect with people with similar outlooks on luxury brands?

• What turns them on about using the Internet for luxury purchasing and research?

The new report tracks the trends in affluent's use of the internet.  It compares the most current 2011 data with data gathered during 2010, 2007, and 2005 to paint a picture of the changing landscape of online action and interaction.

Mobile Apps:  Real data about how affluents are using mobile devices to connect with luxury brands

This year's report includes an in-depth look at how affluent consumers use their mobile devices to shop, interact, form relationships, and learn more about their favorite luxury brands. 

The investigation includes information on use of mobile devices, use of apps, willingness to pay for apps, and loyalty to mobile apps from luxury brands.