Brands Seek Omnichannel Customers

In a session delivered at the Luxury Summit in Vienna this year, American Express head of Merchant Services for France and the Netherlands Armand de Milleville has reported that luxury brands should focus their marketing efforts towards consumers who engage with their brand across stores, online, and mobile.

“Omnichannel customers have become the most valuable," he stated. "Those that experience your brand across all channels are the most profitable consumers."

He cited US data showing that omnichannel shoppers, just 16% of all luxury consumers in that country, accounted for 45% of luxury spend, roughly equivalent to the 49% of spend generated by the 60% who shopped only in-store.

In addition, 41% of the omnichannel spend share was on premium luxury, while 59% was on accessible luxury. And this split was even more marked globally, with respective figures of 62% and 38%.

While this is all well and good for luxury brands, where does this leave the rest of the business community?

Omnichannel consumption has become the new norm – consumers want to interact with brands across all media. Who nowadays sees a TV ad and are satisfied that that product or service is for them? Consumers research online, visit websites on their mobile device, and even thumb through the odd catalogue when the mood strikes. A great example of this omnichannel activity is the upcoming Big W Toy Sale campaign – a TV ad to drive interest, a catalogue to flick through to see what catches the eye, and an online and social media presence for research and engagement.

What it means for us: Australia as a country is moving quickly towards recognising and capturing omnichannel consumers across all forms of brand and service offerings, be they luxury or value based. A solid online, social, and search backing for broadcast and print advertising campaigns can drive engagement and top of mind recall for customers who consume different forms of media throughout different portions of their daily lives.