Raúl Peñafiel, general manager of Jaguar Land Rover in Mexico, faces a dilemma: what should be the future marketing of the luxury cars sold at the brand’s points of sale in the country. During the almost four years that he has been in charge of the company, his obsession has been building experiences for his clients. Whoever buys a Land Rover or a Jaguar pays for something more than a vehicle, they do so for an exclusive experience that begins at the dealership.
“I think it would be a mistake to consider a 100% digital model in which all that fun and exciting part of buying a premium car is lost,” he said in a forum on digitization organized by Mercado Libre.
The luxury goods market has been the most resistant to online shopping. Although e-commerce has seen an increase in recent years, many brands feared losing their exclusive status by going online. Finally, premiums have always focused on the in-person customer experience. Your strategy is based on everything that goes into buying the product, not just the product itself.
But the widespread closure of sales flats for several months in the midst of the pandemic shook this business model built on the physical sales experience. Luxury brands had to ride the digital wave in order to market their products. And car brands were no exception.
“We have solved this situation and with very good results,” said Edgar Casal, director of Audi Mexico, during the forum. In May 2020, the automaker began converting its global websites from purely informational tools to true transaction spaces, where the car can be set up and put aside. However, the following phases of the process are still carried out at the dealer, who contacts the customer directly, is in charge of managing the financing and delivery of the vehicle.
Proponents of e-commerce say that buying online allows you to create a personalized sales experience. “It will not be glasses of champagne, but it can still be unique,” said Pierre Blaise, president of the Mexican Association for Online Sales (AMVO), in a previous forum.
But premium carmakers are still reluctant to abandon physical contact and rather advocate a hybrid model. “To continue consolidating, we have to continue exploiting digital media, but without giving up this shopping experience that has characterized us for years. We want to maintain this active contact with our clients ”, says Casal.
Peñafiel shares this vision. “You have to work on a hybrid model in which the customer can get more information on our website so that they can reach the dealer with more information, but not deprive them of this entire purchasing process. We cannot steal that part from the client because it is exciting. Today, the business model for my product cannot be 100% digital, ”he says.
Blaise says that if luxury brands are looking to tailor their shopping experience, they can find ways to make it special for customers. “A special delivery or a personalized virtual attention can turn into a luxurious and elite experience.”
In 2017, Nasdaq predicted that 95% of all retail sales would be made online by 2040. This monumental shift, which has been brewing for years and accelerated with the pandemic, is mainly due to the fact that millennials are entering in your best years of income. This group has grown up buying things on the internet and generally gets all their information online. This makes them more dependent on the web when it comes to shopping. “E-commerce is more than just a trend,” says Blaise. “It is a generational revolution.”
