Financial services

Email open rates were up 7.1 percent in the third quarter which is a good sign for luxury brands that intend to use email blasts as part of their holiday marketing campaigns.

Thirty-eight percent of smartphone owners have used their device to make a purchase, according to a study from comScore.

London-based publication Luxury Briefing announced the launch of a quarterly magazine supplement called Luxury Connections during its Wealth Summit last week in London.

Luxury automakers, publishers, hoteliers and fashion designers have made their mark in the mobile space in the third quarter, developing applications that engage, entertain and inform a bevy of affluent consumers.

Luxury brands Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Louis Vuitton topped the luxury sector’s list of global brands in 2011, according to a report from Interbrand.

Using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets is one of the main ways that upscale financial services companies can increase customer interaction and build loyalty.

Global investment banking and securities firm Goldman Sachs is incorporating QR codes into its print ads to further educate and inform consumers of the company’s efforts to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.