Chanel leads iconic brands with optimized jewelry, watch sites

French fashion house Chanel is taking one giant leap for iconic luxury brands with the launch of two mobile-optimized sites for its fine jewelry and watch collections.

The brand revamped the two sites and optimized them for viewing on iPad. Chanel is leaving behind key competitors such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Gucci, which do not have optimized sites, by adding another way to showcase its products.

“There is a higher percentage of luxury brand consumers that shop from a smartphone – if a luxury brand hasn’t optimized their site for the mobile Web, they are missing sales,” said Marci Troutman, founder/CEO of Siteminis, Atlanta, GA.

“The consumers that have a smartphone are looking for mobile Web sites to be shopping-friendly now, and the percentage of these consumers will grow rapidly over the next several years,” she said. “Don’t always assume that a consumer will be searching the app store for a specific brand and downloading an app for each and every one of their favorite retailers.

“Keep in mind, it’s always better to allow a consumer to bookmark your mobile Web site than to have an app lost in a sea of hundreds of apps on a user’s mobile phone.”

Ms. Troutman is not affiliated with Chanel, nor did Siteminis optimize the brand’s mobile site. She has agreed to comment as a third-party industry expert

Chanel’s belles
Chanel optimized its watch microsite in anticipation of the launch of its J12 Chromatic collection, debuting in the United States June 1.

The Chromatic is made from a combination of ceramic and titanium metals, which gives it an unusual color in addition to its durable and scratch- and break-resistant surface

J12 Chromatic 33mm

This type of material is so strong and advanced, it can only be polished by crushed diamonds.

Users can learn about watch information and manufacturing, complete with video and high-resolution images, on the “What’s New” section of the site.

Chanel watch page

Additionally, Chanel launched a fine jewelry site compatible for iPad.

Chanel jewelry homepage 

Consumers can tap on a collection and can swipe the page or tap on the arrows to move through the products.

The chosen piece is brought into a spotlight, where users can further examine the pieces with pinch-and-zoom.

Jewelry glossary

The featured products on Chanel’s fine jewelry site are in the Baroque collection, consisting of chain-linked jewelry, rings, necklaces and bracelets.

Tablet debate
The incorporation of the manufacturing process behind products is integral to a luxury brand in mobile.

This tactic combines both old-world luxury heritage methods with new-world technology.

Many legacy-heavy luxury brands are reluctant to grasp new trends such as mobile, social media and tablet-optimization.

However, that is the way that the industry is moving.

Chanel’s probable thinking is that if it must go forward, it should take as much of traditional marketing with it as to not take away from the original luxury message nor alienate older customers.

Therefore, by explaining exactly what goes into the making of a Chanel product, it pays homage to customers who already accept the brand’s value, as well as solidifying its prestige among future customers or those who do not understand the brand’s worth.

Nonetheless, the fact that Chanel is embracing new technology without letting go of its past is advantageous, especially since its main competitors have not yet done so.

“Every brand, be it luxury or otherwise, needs to recognize the rapid growth of social media and mobile over the next year or two,” Ms. Troutman said. “Facebook is not just for students, it’s also used by the baby boomers and up.

“This being the case, as this demographic starts to accept the use of this new technology, they will also be willing to learn the smartphone and all it has to offer,” she said.

Final Take
Rachel Lamb, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York

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Tags: Chanel, luxury, luxury marketing, Marci Troutman, mobile, optimized site, Site Minis