Traditionally the luxury goods sector was a latecomer to the web. There are several reasons for this. How could Tati and Chanel sit side-by-side? The media was considered low-end and especially dangerous because it was new. The problem facing the marketing industry was that it could not make the customer experience as interesting as it was in store. Physical boutiques therefore also slowed down the development of e-shops for a long time, fearing the arrival of new competition.
One cannot deny that the luxury industry and the Internet have points in common: they are both innovative and continually avant-garde. But they also have points of divergence. The Internet and the neutrality of the web appears a “democracy” with a certain freedom of expression, while the luxury industry is akin to a “dictatorship” with an official voice.
For five years, the luxury industry on the web is seeking to catch up. This sector is fully aware of what’s at stake on the Internet. One example of this new focus is the recent lawsuit between Louis Vuitton, Ebay and even Google. We could even cite Chanel who, like Vuitton, closely monitors the use of its brand name on the Internet.
So the next logical step is to tap into the social web. Here once more, the luxury industry is lagging: many groups, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts do not belong to the brands, but to its fans. To have control over their online reputation is crucial but difficult. They must be able to monitor all social media.
