Affluent consumer

Even though the industry as a whole did not report superlative earnings, luxury retailers came out on top at the end of 2011, indicating that the luxury shopper should continue to flourish in 2012.

Luxury conglomerates and department stores have so far reported positive earnings with most seeing double-digit growth year over year. Shifts in strategy from 2011, namely the increase of menswear and the return of conspicuous spending, are expected to continue this year.

“The luxury shopper is not embarrassed anymore – she is happily spending and enjoying herself,” said Paula Rosenblum, managing director at market researcher RSR. “The luxury market is alive and well, and consumers are spending an obscene amount of money.

“I think that the market will remain generally recession-proof, especially with consumers spending from BRIC countries,” she said.

Number the stars
Luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton – which owns famed labels such as Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Bulgari and Marc Jacobs – saw a 16 percent increase reaching $31.1 billion, according to the company.

LVMH, which acquired Bulgari in the first quarter of this year and increased stock in independently-owned Hermes throughout 2011, reported that revenue increased by 20 percent in the four quarter alone.

Bulgari fall/winter 2011

Meanwhile, luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue reported a profit of $2.9 billion in sales for the fiscal year, which was a 7.8 year-over-year increase.

The strongest categories in January included women’s contemporary and high-end designer apparel, handbags and men’s apparel and accessories, according to the retailer.

Additionally, department store chain Nordstrom reported a 7.2 percent increase in 2011 with preliminary total retail sales at $10.5 billion.

Profits increased 12.7 percent year over year, with 2010 rounding out at $9.31 billion, according to the retailer.

Macy’s Inc., which owns department stores Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, saw a total profit of 5.3 percent growth, which its CEO/chairman Terry Lundgren called “weaker than anticipated” in the company’s press release.

Bloomingdales’ 2011 holiday windows

However, this is the 26th consecutive month of growth for the company. Its total sales for 2011 reached $26.4 billion.

Macy’s did not offer separate numbers for Bloomingdale’s.

Conglomerates such as PPR and Richemont and retailers Burberry, Tiffany & Co. and Ralph Lauren have not yet reported 2011 sales at press deadline.

Room to bloom
On the other hand, mainstream retailers such as Target, Gap Inc., TJ Maxx, Dillard’s, J.C. Penney and Kohl’s saw small or declining growth in 2011.

Where some retailers are struggling to make ends meet, the luxury market is going strong.

This behavior is likely to be carried on throughout the rest of this year.

The only fly in the ointment could be the ever-impending potential crumble of the Euro, according to Ms. Rosenblum. This could seriously alter the way that the world spends in 2012.

Luxury companies should continue to see strong growth from not just U.S. consumers, but also shoppers from the BRIC countries.

Gucci 2011

This includes male shoppers.

Indeed, the jump in both sales in menswear and attention given to the market was huge in 2011.

This is clear in some examples from mergers and acquisitions in 2011, such as PPR’s acquisition of menswear and made-to-order suits.

“Another thing to note is that ‘she’ is now ‘he,’ too – it’s not just women anymore,” Ms. Rosenblum said. “A big surprise in 2011 was the emergence of men spending more on themselves in the luxury market.

“I think that the luxury shopper is reverting back to form,” she said. “After a couple of years of humility, they are coming back.”

Final Take
Rachel Lamb, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York

Swarovski Personal Assistant site

Precision-cut crystal maker Swarovski launched a dedicated mobile site designed to help consumers with all of their St. Valentine’s Day needs including gift ideas, restaurants and spas.

The Sparkling Valentine’s Day Assistant is platform-agnostic and is optimized for all mobile devices. The site incorporates Google Places to offer driving and walking directions to various hotspots.

“We want to engage people at the appropriate occasions and have them think of Swarovski as a fun brand to have with you,” said Livia Marotta, New York-based director and head of communications for Swarovski. “People who follow us are interested in Swarovski, so they appreciate our reminding them of our latest products.

“But in this case, we are both providing Swarovski gift ideas but also giving them a tool or service to easily find activities and gifts for Valentine’s Day,” she said.

Site seeing
The Swarovski Valentine’s Day assistant site is at http://www.sparklinggiftassistant.com.

Swarovski Valentine’s Day site

Users can see a list of categories including florist, chocolate, spa and beauty, cosmetics, bakery, books, film and beverages.

To use the site, consumers tap on one of the categories and then choose “drive” or “walk.”

The site then pulls up a variety of places correlating to the category that the user chose.

For instance, tapping on “bakery” and then “walk” brings consumers to a page where multiple places to buy baked goods pop up around their current location.

Swarovski Valentine’s Day site

Users can tap on an individual icon to see the name of the bakery or tap on the list that features all of the choices ranked by proximity.

There is also a Swarovski button that maps out the closest branded location.

Personalized campaigns
Swarovski has been using other Valentine’s Day marketing through multichannel efforts.

For example, the jeweler is using emails and paid search to increase ecommerce transactions (see story).

In addition, Swarovski recently launched a new Facebook application that generates “sparkling personals” based on users’ horoscopes and other personal information.

Valentine’s Day sparkling personals

Consumers can publish this ad on their Facebook page.

“The Facebook app is meant to connect, entertain and engage,” Ms. Marotta said. “It’s really meant to be something fun to do and is clearly geared to a younger audience.”

In addition to its mobile Valentine’s Day campaign, Swarovski also put many eggs in its mobile basket for the December holidays.

In fact, the jeweler designed an Around the World Christmas gaming app that featured holiday-themed products and introduced a chance to win Swarovski prizes (see story).

Swarovski is honing in on mobile consumers in a way that aims to spark ideas during times of the year when emotions are running high.

“[The mobile site] provides an opportunity to bond and connect with our audiences,” Ms. Marotta said.

“At the same time, it affects our bottom line in a positive way – it increases business for us,” she said. “We will probably continue to promote holiday-themed mobile campaigns because the feedback is very positive for us.”

Final Take
Rachel Lamb, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York

Burberry spring/summer 2012

British lifestyle brand Burberry has unveiled its February spring/summer campaign images and video which will soon be dispersed through digital and print media buys as well as social media.

Burberry’s spring campaign upholds the same youthful appeal as its fall/winter campaign and features actor Eddie Redmayne and model Cara Delevigne as a playful couple. The images will soon be popping up in major fashion magazines and the video has been posted on the brand’s YouTube channel.

“A multichannel campaign is critical in today’s world because it is the only way a brand can effectively reach its audience and appeal to people across all age groups,” said Nikki Baboun, associate strategist at Siegel+Gale, New York.

“However, the key is not only being where the audience is, but knowing the role each channel plays and tailoring the information and experience accordingly,” she said.

Ms. Baboun is not affiliated with Burberry, but agreed to comment as a third-party expert.

Strike a pose
The print campaign images feature Ms. Delevigne and Mr. Redmayne in a number of the brand’s accessories, shoes and apparel from the spring/summer collection.

Four images have been released for the month of February and are already posted on the brand’s Facebook page.

The first features the two models in a very couple-like pose with Ms. Delevigne slightly in front and to the side of Mr. Radmayne.

Mr. Redmayne and Ms. Delevigne in Burberry spring/summer 2012

While Mr. Redmayne is wearing a Burberry suit and sweater, Ms. Delevigne is decked out in a branded skirt, top, jacket, shoes, hat and clutch from the spring/summer collection.

In another image, Mr. Redmayne is sporting a different suit and carrying a women’s clutch while pointing at Ms. Delevigne who is wearing a cocktail dress and vest.

Burberry's spring/summer 2012 campaign

The last two images feature Mr. Redmayne in another suit while Ms. Delevigne wears two different signature Burberry trench coats, a full-sized bag, a clutch and two different hats.

The couple is playfully whispering and biting each other throughout these images.

In addition to posting the images on Facebook, Burberry will be placing these images in high-fashion and luxury lifestyle magazines such as Vanity Fair, Elle, Vogue and W magazine.

The brand has also taken six behind-the-scenes photos which will likely be posted on the brand’s hyper-active Facebook page soon.

“The same person that pores over magazines is also looking for new information right now,” Ms. Barboun said. “They want to interact with their favorite brands and feel as though they are a part of what is going on—they want to be in-the-know.

“Moreover, either with a simple ‘like’ or any other type of engagement with a brand, this becomes a part of a person’s profile and activity, which communicates that this brand is important to the person and that they are proud to be a part of the brand,” she said.

In the trenches
Burberry also created a video for the spring/summer campaign which it posted on YouTube earlier this week.

The 30-second video spot features Ms. Delevigne and Mr. Redmayne against a white background.

Burberry starts the video by zooming in on the accessories that each character is wearing.

When the camera zooms out, it shows Mr. Redmayne looking like he is going to kiss Ms. Delevigne’s hand but then bites her instead. She jokingly grabs his ear and pushes him away as the video ends.

The song, “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison, provides the soundtrack.

Burberry’s “The linen suit and woven raffia trench” video

Burberry posted a link to the YouTube video on its Facebook page yesterday.

Within 20 minutes of being posted, the video received more than 50 “likes.”

Both the video and the images are also found on the Burberry Web site at http://www.burberry.com and will be placed on Web sites such as The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, Elle, GQ and Harper’s Bazaar.

Indeed, the playful attitude and youthful vibe of the campaign is becoming a signature for Burberry, as are Ms. Delevigne and Mr. Redmayne.

Burberry's playful spring/summer 2012 campaign

For example, the two were also seen in sneak-peeks images released last month for the spring/summer campaign. One image featured Ms. Delevigne in nothing but a trench coat with Mr. Redmayne lying on top of her (see story).

Additionally, Burberry’s fall/winter campaign also featured these two along with other emerging talents such as British actors, musicians and models.

One interesting feature of this 1960’s-themed effort is the focus on a demographic that seems younger than what would pass for a typical Burberry customer (see story).

“Staying true to the core idea is critical to building a strong brand,” Ms. Baboun said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean that the same images have to be used repeatedly.

“There are different ways to bring to life the same idea and still have a cohesive brand,” she said. “However, in fashion there are always going to be a few stand-out pieces that lead each collection for the season.

“So, using the same images across platforms can help assume this sort of icon status, creating a very strong impression for the brand.”

Final Take
Kayla Hutzler, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York

Starwood's St. Regis

Starwood Hotels & Resorts is reinventing the way that consumers visit luxury hotels through increased loyalty offerings including 24-hour check-in and check-out, lifetime status and Starwood ambassadors for its most frequent guests.

What used to be up to the hotel’s discretion is now up to the members of Starwood Preferred Guests, since they can now check in and out of any Starwood hotel whenever they please. The company is also offering lifetime Starwood Preferred Guest status and a one-to-one Starwood ambassador to tailor the guest’s experience.

“We were looking to redefine loyalty in an era where mega-travelers are more profitable than ever, and these travelers expect us to know them and to anticipate and address their needs,” said Gretchen Kloke, vice president of global loyalty marketing for Starwood, New York.

“They crave more choice, more control and more personal service,” she said. “Hotel loyalty programs are increasingly competitive, and as such we were looking to create something that is impossible to match by our competitors and creates loyalty beyond reason for our members.”

Starwood’s luxury hotel collections include the St. Regis and the Luxury Collection.

Stars align
Your24, Starwood’s new 24-hour check-in service that it describes as “turning an ancient hotel convention on its head,” is now available for Starwood Preferred Guests who spend more than 75 nights at Starwood hotels per year.

The new policy is that guests choose their own check-in times. For example, if a guest checks-in at 10 p.m., he does not have to check-in until 10 p.m. the day of departure.

This could come in useful for affluent consumers traveling on business and who get into hotels late at night or early in the morning before traditional check-in times.

The Phoenician, a Luxury Collection property

Another new part of the program is the lifetime status. Members who have stayed 250 nights total and maintained elite status for at least five years are awarded SPG Lifetime Gold status, according to the company.

Additionally, members with 500 total nights and 10 years of Platinum SPG status will hold on to that title for life.

The third component is the one-on-one Starwood ambassador, a move that could rival most customer service experiences in luxury hotels.

The Starwood ambassador is available for SPG members who stay 100 nights annually.

This entails a personal relationship between the member and the ambassador where the employee works one-on-one to understand preferences and tailor the experience based on what consumers like and dislike. This may even stretch to guest assistance when they are not traveling.

“Most companies see loyalty programs as part of the marketing mix, where we see SPG as a key piece to earning the loyalty of our most high-frequency travelers,” Ms. Kloke said.

“These members increasingly travel from country to country, continent to continent – and are more valuable than ever,” she said.  ”They stay more, they pay more and they hold up in tough economic times.”

SPG for CRM
Starwood has been pulling out all of the stops to secure brand loyalists through its SPG program.

For example, the hotel chain offered an incentive for its preferred guests to rack up membership points by staying at a property in August for access to the U.S. Open Tennis tournament (see story).

St. Regis Shenzhen

In addition, Starwood offered SPG members free points in the form of “social currency” for checking-in to hotels on location-based application Foursquare (see story).

Since luxury travelers staying at hotels expect a certain kind of treatment, programs such as SPG and other hotel loyalty programs up the ante.

All luxury hotels offer special service and in-the-moment technology benefits, but hotels that put more effort in the form of personalized service to their most loyal guests are likely to see greater retention.

“It often surprises people, but our St. Regis brand has the highest share of SPG occupancy of all our brands,” Ms. Kloke said.

“With the additional enhancements made to Starwood Preferred Guest that cater to the needs and desires of our most prolific travelers, our luxury brands such as the St. Regis and the Luxury Collection are positioned to experience even greater SPG share of occupancy,” she said.

Final Take
Rachel Lamb, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York

Proving a point

Luxury Daily is inviting opinion pieces on luxury advertising, marketing, media and retail issues that affect marketers as they run multichannel programs for branding as well as customer acquisition, retention and reactivation.

The opinion pieces should cover the latest trends, discuss challenges or opportunities and offer solutions without self-promotion. Submissions go to Luxury Daily editor in chief Mickey Alam Khan at mickey@napean.com.

Each column should offer insight unique to the issue discussed and customized to Luxury Daily’s core audience of luxury brands, luxury retailers, ad agencies and publishers.

Expert advice
The goal of these industry-expert columns is to educate readers on the ins and outs of luxury marketing as more consumers engage with offline, online and mobile content, commerce and advertising in their daily routines.

The columns will complement Luxury Daily editorial coverage from editors and reporters on staff.

Columns should have a 600- to 700-word count, with exceptions for longer pieces based on a discussion with Mr. Alam Khan. Sentences should be short and so should the paragraphs. Jargon should be avoided. Columnists cannot promote their product or services.

Those interested in writing columns on a one-off or regular basis should send a one-paragraph summary of the topic and email to mickey@napean.com.

Once signed-off on, the opinion piece should be submitted within two weeks.

The column should include the author’s name, title, company, city, state and email address at the bottom of the piece, along with a high-res jpeg color headshot.

Exclusive
If approved, the opinion piece typically runs within 30 days of submission.

The submitted opinion pieces should be exclusive to Luxury Daily and not published elsewhere. Published opinion pieces are copyright of Luxury Daily publisher Napean.

Please visit the site at http://www.luxurydaily.com/category/opinion/columns/ to see previous columns. Please read articles on http://www.luxurydaily.com to glean ideas on luxury marketing issues of the day.

Today in luxury marketing –

Stuart Weitzman revamps ‘Million Dollar Shoe’
Stuart Weitzman’s infamous “Million Dollar Shoe” — which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year — will make another comeback, just in time for Oscar season, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
Please click here to read the entire article on WWD

Arizona Muse for Fendi spring 2012 Campaign by Karl Lagerfeld
Captured in black and white, Arizona sports the label’s classic silhouettes under the cover of night with voluminous curls and elegant makeup, according to Fashion Gone Rogue.
Please click here to read the entire article on Fashion Gone Rogue

China economy headed for hard landing: analyst
China’s economy is headed for a ‘hard landing’ this year as weaker demand overseas chokes off exports, said Gary Shilling, who correctly forecast the US recession that began in December 2007.
Please click here to read the entire article on Business Times

Luxury goods giant LVMH posts net profit of $4.1 billion
French luxury goods giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA on Thursday reported a net profit of $4.1 billion for 2011, thanks partly to its watches and jewelry division, which was boosted by the acquisition of Bulgari, according to the Washington Post.
Please click here to read the entire article on the Washington Post

Martin Hayward is director of marketing at Mirror Image Internet

By Martin Hayward

Last year, mobile advertising was consistently a hot topic as more marketers realized the superior effectiveness of reaching consumers on mobile devices.

Still, industry analyst Mary Meeker recently revealed that print media represents only 8 percent of consumer time, but accounts for 27 percent of ad spending.

Meanwhile, mobile media also represents 8 percent of consumer time, but only 0.5 percent of ad spending.

HyLoMo and more
This year we will see that change, as marketers leverage the powerful capabilities of all connected devices to increase consumer purchase intent through targeted campaigns. Here is why:

1. Advertisers will leverage HyLoMo (hyper-local mobile) technology to offer consumers more engaging advertising options, such as interactive coupons and games that are directly relevant to the customer, based on device type and user behavior.

2. Today’s interactive televisions will become an important part of an advertiser’s marketing strategy as consumers make purchases and interact with ads from the comfort of their living room.

3. Smartphones, tablets and other portable devices will interact more with home devices, providing advertisers with new paths to promote and sell their services.

We will see marketing dollars shift to online mediums as advertisers rely on connected devices to reach target audiences.

4. More consumers will use smart devices in real-time to find deals while they are out shopping and advertisers will take advantage of geo-location detection to reach them even closer to the point of purchase.

This will have a significant effect on the way marketers and bricks-and-mortar stores interact with consumers, especially as smart devices become the preferred medium and vehicle for ecommerce.

5. In November, Internet viewers nationwide watched 20.5 hours of video online, a total of 40.9 billion videos – more than 20 billion more videos than in November 2010 (comScore). This number will only grow more in 2012.

With this increased strain on Web sites, TV networks and video providers will look to new services to deliver rich content faster and remain competitive, particularly as we observe the rise of the connected television.

REACHING CONSUMERS through these connected devices enables advertisers to create a one-on-one marketing experience with informed messages that are relevant to the right audience.

In 2012, we will see even more ad campaigns targeted at connected devices that deliver real-time content and take relevancy to the next level.

Martin Hayward is director of marketing at Mirror Image Internet, Tewksbury, MA. Reach him at martin.hayward@mirror-image.com.

Launching Feb. 6,  the relaunched site is meant to be a digital version of the magazine that adapts to the time frame and use of media. The restyled Vogue Paris Web site is at http://www.vogue.fr.

“The opportunities for luxury brands on our new French Vogue Web site is to be part of a very qualified and aesthetic environment in phase with their values, codes and creativity,” said Delphine Royant, publisher of Vogue Paris, Paris.

“It is an incredible opportunity for those brands to have a media that corresponds to their needs, wishes and expectations in terms of sophistication and quality,” she said.

“All the positions for the ads have been specially created at the core of the editorial, just like the magazine, so that all the ads are perfectly adapted, coherent and integrated in the editorial environment.”

Vogue Paris is a subsidiary of Condé Nast International Other countries publishing Vogue in print or online are Britain, Italy, Germany, Spain, Russia, Japan, China, Taiwain, Mexico and Latin America, South Korea, Brazil, Greece, Australia, Portugal, India and Turkey (see story). It will also launch soon in the Netherlands.

Back in Vogue.com
Similar to its U.S. counterpart, French Vogue will include editorial from the magazine, private meetings with fashion creators and backstage shoots.

The iPad-inspired the spacing of the magazine with an emphasis on pictures, large formats and full-screen side-shots. The layout is clear, stripped-back and is easy to navigate, per the publication.

The new Vogue Paris

There is also an emphasis on exploring rather than searching.

Consumers will be able to create lookbooks with 20,000 fashion images, take advantage of the Voguepaedia and put together inspiration boards on the Moodboard section.

Social media will also play a huge role in the new Vogue Paris. Posts on the site and on the Vogue Paris Tumblr are live-streaming.

There will also be a Vogue Paris Social Reader where users will be able to see the Vogue Paris content that their friends read and view these articles.

Vogue Paris social reader

This is the first French news entity to launch a social reader, Vogue claims. In doing so, Vogue hopes to expand the circulation to more readers.

Vogue Paris has more than 800,000 Twitter followers and 400,000 Facebook fans, according to the brand.

On watch
Inaugural advertisers for the launch next week are Boucheron, Burberry, Rolex, Cartier, Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Gucci, Guerlain, Michael Kors, YSL Beauté, Chloé and L’Oréal Paris.

The publication sees approximately 500,000 unique visitors per month on its site now and expects the numbers to grow.

“We have no projection on the expected Web traffic because we prefer having few unique visitors, but qualified ones,” Ms. Royant said.

“Our goal is not to make a huge audience but really gather qualified and adapted visitors [who] will spend time on our new Web site,” she said. “The traffic will increase naturally because of the English version of the Web site which will be available in March.”

Right now, advertisers on Vogue Paris include the Grande Hôtel de Bordeaux and the print edition of Vogue Paris.

Condé Nast may be taking cues from U.S. Vogue, which boasts marketers such as Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, Tiffany & Co. and Christian Dior (see story).

Calvin Klein on Vogue.com

On the U.S. Vogue site, brands can include commerce and video to enhance interaction and increase the amount of time consumers spend with the brand and, by default, on the site.

Vogue Paris is using the site renovation as a launching point to cement its place as a fashion authority and the presence of luxury advertisers helps its cause.

“We thought it was impossible to have a strong brand such as Vogue Paris and not have a Web site up to it,” Ms. Royant said.

“Therefore, the idea was to create a new concept up to the editorial, creative and sophisticated standards of this powerful brand,” she said.

Final Take
Rachel Lamb, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York

Apparel label Brooks Brothers will launch a customization feature on its Web site, leading experts to wonder what about this effort could be beneficial towards luxury brands’ digital endeavors.

With a feature like this on its Web site, a luxury marketer can build brand loyalists and increase the chance of retention.

“Mass customization creates additional sales and brand loyalty opportunities,” said Doug Fleener, president and managing partner at Dynamic Experiences Group, Boston. “This is a great way to create a more personalized buying experience.

“The large selection of fabrics, prints and styles practically ensures that the customer can find exactly what they’re looking for in a Brooks Brothers’ shirts,” he said. “It also creates a more engaged shopping experience for the consumer, which adds value to the product itself.”

The “create your own shirt” feature on the site will be designed by Fluid.

Luxury Daily associate reporter Rachel Lamb interviewed Marko Bon, global director of user experience at Brooks Brothers, New York, regarding the brand’s plans for more customization on its site.

Here is what he said:

What was the strategy behind this planned effort?
Brooks Brothers is building on its nearly two-century legacy of Made-to-Measure apparel by introducing our offering online.

We will begin by launching with a make-your-own suit and shirt program – available across hundreds of patterns, colors, and weaves – including our legendary Non-Iron fabric.

How will this add value to Brooks Brothers?
It’s all about convenience. We are enabling more of our customers to enjoy more of our product in more sizes and more customized variations through more channels.

Why is online customization important to a luxury brand?
We view online customization as yet another extension of the relationship with our customer.

When our customer has gone through the process of having their measurements taken by our tailors in our stores, and had a custom suit precisely crafted and customized to their individual fit and style specifications, it makes sense that their preferences are configured into their online experience.

This service, among others, is a first step in that direction.

How will the brand be marketing this?
Like our custom suits, we believe this product is so special that our customers will share it with their friends and colleagues.

What is next for the brand?
As America’s oldest apparel retailer, we have 193 years of innovation history. There is a lot of investment being made to make history in the future.

Final Take
Rachel Lamb, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York

Miu Miu Valentine's Day email

Since many luxury brands are sending emails with gift ideas and promotions to their most loyal customers, it only makes sense that marketers should optimize the messages for mobile to entice impulse buys this St. Valentine’s Day.

Brands whose Valentine’s Day campaigns are centered around online transactions need to ensure that the messages their customers receive are timely and can be viewed on almost any device. Messages sent to consumers checking email on their smartphone on-the-go or tablet users lounging on the couch have a  better click-through rate and, along with that, mobile commerce or ecommerce transactions.

“Holidays, especially Valentine’s Day, present a great opportunity for luxury brands to engage with loyal and new customers by sending spur-of-the-moment, day-of and weeks prior to the holiday offers and promotions personalized to the consumer,” said Holly Krenek, marketing manager at Digby, Austin, TX.

“Valentine’s Day is one of the most targeted, sales-driven holidays for luxury brands,” she said. “If brands optimize emails and push notifications through their own rich app with special offers or promotions for their consumers, it makes the shopping experience that much more enticing, driving sales and customer loyalty.”

Shot across cupid’s bow
Email is an opt-in channel, so it is likely that consumers who subscribe to a newsletter are brand loyalists and are likely to buy products from that retailer.

“Smartphone optimization and tablet optimization are very important to luxury brands as consumers research, plan and purchase across multiple devices,” said Deb Hall, managing director at web2mobile, Toronto. “Email is still one of the most popular applications on all devices, so the better email marketing experience across devices will result in more conversion. 

“Email leads users at the top of the purchase funnel and as consumers move through the purchase cycle, mobile plays an important part in the purchase process,” she said.

Site optimization post-email is important because not only does it make the experience more convenient, but there is also a sense of security entering personal credit card information on an optimized site.

Indeed, consumers who click through an email into a non-optimized site may exit the site or go to a competitor whose site can be better seen through mobile devices.

For example, 52 percent of adult mobile consumers employ their devices while in a store to get help with purchasing decisions, according to findings from a study by Pew American & Internet Life Project.

On the other hand, some brands have gotten the hang of email marketing. One retailer that uses mobile-optimization to their advantage is Miu Miu.

Miu Miu’s Valentine’s Day email

The brand uses huge, colorful images in the middle of its emails. This serves to not only make sure that the image is clear on a smaller mobile screen, but puts the product as the focus as the email.

Additionally, Ralph Lauren’s Valentine’s email is bright, colorful and consistent with the brand’s Web site.

Clicking through the email brings consumers to a mobile-optimized page where they can fully see Valentine’s Day gifts with a chance to buy.

Ralph Lauren’s optimized site

Retail in the details
One retailer that will likely benefit from optimization is department store chain Neiman Marcus.

Valentine’s Day email from Neiman Marcus

The images are clear and large in the email, but when a consumer clicks-through the email, she is not brought to the retailer’s optimized site.

This could frustrate consumers who now need to pinch-and-zoom to see or buy any products.

Meanwhile, email is a huge part of the Michael Kors #FallingInLoveWith Valentine’s Day campaign.

However, the script on the email is quite small and clicking through the email brings consumers to a tiny site where ecommerce could be a burden.

Michael Kors email

“Many on-the-go consumers today have their smartphones in-hand, check their emails while out and about and will be more willing to shop in-store or online if they are receiving personalized offers from their favorite luxury brands via a mobile-optimized email,” Digby’s Ms. Krenek said.

“It’s crucial for communication purposes to make sure messaging is mobile-optimized so the consumer can read the message clearly and enjoy the promotional experiences from the brand,” she said.

“It is also critical to have any links in the email be deep-linked to the retailer’s mobile-optimized Web site so that same great search, browse and buying experience is maintained throughout the entire buying experience.”

Final Take
Rachel Lamb, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York