What differentiates a run of the mill e-commerce store from a luxury e-commerce store is the experience that the site provides to its users. If you were to walk into the boutique of a famous designer you would not have the same shopping experience as you would in a regular high street store, therefore a luxury e-commerce site should provide a different experience to that of the site belonging to a normal high street retailer.
A Different Language
Even the language that we use when talking about these two opposing ends of the same market is different, one has a shop the other a boutique, one sells fashion the other sells couture. It is differences like these, taken out of the real world and placed into the virtual world of online retailing that makes the difference in the experience gained by the end user. When an online client steps through the virtual portal provided by their laptop or smart phone they are looking for a luxury e-commerce buying experience that mimics the experience of walking into a bricks and mortar luxury shopping emporium.
Detailed Design
Many high end retailers offer a unique shopping experience to visitors to their boutiques and salons; they aim to capture a feeling and experience that cannot be achieved in a standard chain store experience. Here the service is personal, attention to detail is paramount, and the boutiques and designer shopping emporiums are created to display luxury and opulence, just visiting somewhere so luxurious is a treat in itself.
When this form of retailing is transferred into the virtual world of luxury e-commerce there is a danger that the uniqueness will be lost during the transition. Web designers looking to create a luxury e-commerce store need to remember that the customer needs to feel like they are receiving the same personal attention and unique experience as they would in the real world. In order for this to work features need to be built into the luxury e-commerce site to fulfil the needs and expectations of the end user, not just the high end client that is commissioning the web site.
With the increase of boutiques and high end stores now branching into the online world, luxury e-commerce stores have changed the whole experience for users online.
