A number of traditionally strong luxury brands have recently posted bleak financial earnings, including Burberry and Ralph Lauren, causing experts to question what might be causing the decline.
Square Root, a store relationship management (SRM) software firm, found in its “Turning Brand Vision Into Store Execution” study that the main culprit may have to do with consumer expectations in the bricks-and-mortar space, and the general sense that luxury brands are lagging behind. The survey, conducted in partnership with WBR Digital, found that a number of deficient in-store strategies are causing bricks-and-mortar retailers to struggle.
“Consumer expectations are on the rise, and bricks-and-mortar retailers are simply struggling to keep up,” said Chris Taylor, CEO of Square Root. “Where consumers expect consistent brand experiences regardless of channel, retailers are still operating in silos.
“That lack of alignment across the organization, coupled with a lack of investment in both tools and technology, is ultimately stalling progress and leading to store closures,” he said.
“Over the last several years, retailers have put a lot of effort and investment behind understanding customers and improving their in-store experience. Now it’s time for retailers to focus on internal operations. Retailers have to gain that same level of understanding of their frontline employees.”
(Source: Luxury Daily )