麦肯锡-网络达尔文时代（英文）-2018.1-24页

Summary of McKinsey&Company Report: "The Age of Digital" in Luxury

Core Content

This report by McKinsey&Company explores the transformation of the luxury industry in the digital era, focusing on three main areas: customer experience, enterprise transformation, and future disruption. It outlines the current state of digital in luxury, the evolving expectations of consumers, and the strategic shifts needed for brands and retailers to thrive in this new landscape.

Main Viewpoints

1. Customer Experience: The Digital Journey

• Online sales growth: Online sales of personal luxury goods (apparel, footwear, accessories, etc.) have grown five-fold since 2009, reaching €20 billion in 2016, and are expected to more than triple by 2025 to €74 billion.
• Digital influence: Nearly 80% of luxury sales are influenced by digital touchpoints, with the typical luxury shopper following a mixed online/offline journey.
• Mobile dominance: Mobile is now the primary device for online shopping, with consumers spending four times more time on mobile than on desktops.
• Consumer behavior: Affordable luxury buyers are more likely to engage digitally and are more open to experimentation. Millennials lead in digital adoption, but all age groups are increasingly involved.
• C2C economy: The digital luxury consumer is becoming a key player, with brands needing to engage and convert them into brand ambassadors.

2. Changes to the Enterprise: Building a Luxury 4.0 Model

• Luxury 4.0: Inspired by Industry 4.0, this model emphasizes digitization, data-driven personalization, and agile operations to enhance customer intimacy and responsiveness.
• Data and machine learning: These technologies are helping brands create personalized, relevant experiences for customers, mirroring historical luxury practices.
• Contextual marketing: Brands are using data to understand customer needs in different contexts, enabling more accurate and meaningful engagement.
• Partnerships: Strategic alliances with technology and creative partners are becoming essential for building novel customer experiences and competencies.

3. Future Disruption: The E-Future

• Decline of offline: Offline retail is expected to decline further, with stores shifting towards experiential and lifestyle-oriented spaces.
• Reverse omnichannel: The future of luxury will see stores needing to match the quality of online experiences, making the digital channel a critical benchmark.
• Renting as a trend: Subscription-based rental services are gaining traction, similar to the music industry's shift from ownership to access.
• Amazon's threat: Amazon is rapidly growing in the fashion and luxury market, challenging traditional brand equity and economics. Its convenience and scale could disrupt the industry significantly.

Key Information

• Online sales: Expected to reach €74 billion by 2025, representing 1/5 of the global luxury market.
• Digital touchpoints: Over half of all touchpoints in the luxury journey are digital, with Chinese consumers engaging with up to 15 touchpoints.
• Luxury 4.0: Brands must build agile, data-driven operating models that balance speed with the essence of luxury (craftsmanship, personalization).
• Ecosystems: Collaboration with external partners is crucial for developing new competencies and maintaining a competitive edge.
• Amazon's role: Amazon is a major player in the digital luxury space, with the potential to redefine the market through convenience and scale.

Call to Action for CEOs

McKinsey outlines five strategic elements that CEOs should consider to succeed in the digital luxury era:

1. Think and act broadly: Digital is part of the value equation, influencing all areas of the business, from retail to brand management.
2. Prepare for continuous transformation: Digital should be a stress test for all aspects of the brand's offering.
3. Evolve the organization: Marketing and digital functions are merging, requiring new leadership structures.
4. Leverage big data and machine learning: These tools are essential for creating authentic, personalized customer relationships.
5. Develop ecosystems: Brands should source competencies from external partners to stay ahead in the digital landscape.

Authors

• Antonio Achille – Senior Partner, Milan, Global leader in Luxury
• Nathalie Remy – Partner, Paris, Global leader in Digital in Fashion
• Sophie Marchessou – Partner, New Jersey, Member of the Apparel, Fashion & Luxury Group
• Aimee Kim, Jennifer Schmidt, Benjamin Durand-Servoingt, and Anna Sanfilippo contributed to the research.

Conclusion

The luxury industry is undergoing a significant digital transformation. Brands must adapt to a more personalized, data-driven, and C2C-oriented market. The rise of digital platforms like Amazon and the shift towards experiential retail and subscription-based models signal a new era of competition and opportunity. Success will depend on agility, customer intimacy, and the ability to form strategic ecosystems.