Is Curbside Pickup & Virtual Appointments the New Luxury?
As we are in an, shall I dare say it again, unprecedented time in history with a pandemic, luxury retailers and consumers are trying to find new ways to be able to purchase their luxury items. Since different countries and even different cities within those countries are on lockdowns, luxury retailers are still trying to maintain customer loyalty and enhance sales with curbside pickups for all your luxury goods after your virtual store appointment.
What is a virtual store appointment? Well, it is an interesting concept that will not be going away anytime soon. Rather time consuming for the retailer and its employees, yet is has proven to be very effective this holiday season with customers purchasing on the rise in the luxury sector. While you get a time slot appointment and a time limit of around 30 minutes with a sales associate, you are able to walk around the store virtually as the sales associate holds their phone or tablet around the store as a shopping experience. The prices are the same of course and then once you have picked out your favourite item, it comes now to pay.
Since most luxury retailers are not equipped to handle large purchases over the phone for security reasons, boutiques like Hermes have to call the financial institution to make sure the funds are there and secure. This process can be very time consuming for both the customer and the employee as wait times during the pandemic with banks are longer than expected.
Once you complete your order virtually or over the phone, you have the choice to come curbside to pick it up in front of the retailers front doors or in some cases, their hidden entrances. They give you a time to come pick it up, yet another reservation, and you call a phone number when you arrive. They will send an employee out with your merchandise and can place is in your trunk or backseat. Yes, you can have some items shipped directly to you however, Hermes WILL NOT ship any Birkin or Kelly’s to you by mail. You will have to come pick those up yourself!
As these challenging times seem to have a dull light ahead of us, I wonder how many of these retailers will keep these tactics in place for customers who might not want the in person experience anymore? Will customers get use to this new way of shopping and communicating by not leaving the comfort or security of their own home?? COMMENT BELOW!