Retailers Use Tech In-Store To Drive Sales // Fashion And Tech In China // Mobile Integration In Luxury Vehicles // Mobile Drives Hotel Bookings

This week, mobile devices conquer the news. From playing a key role in gathering consumer insights and communicating exclusive customer offers in-store to its role in redefining luxury in the auto industry there’s no denying that brands increasingly need to devote attention to their mobile audience as much as their online.

If you’ve got a story you think we should know about or you’d like to take part in the discussion tweet us @futureofluxury.

PSFK – Retailers Harness Technology to Drive Sales In-Store

Having grasped the importance of a strong online presence, luxury brands are constantly conscious of the need to fine-tune, and sometimes even re-launch, their websites in order to optimise their ecommerce offering – but what about their bricks and mortar stores? Much is made of the online customer journey, but how can brands optimise the physical retail environment to encourage sales? From face-recognition technology and high-tech light bulbs that trigger communication of personalised discounts through to 3D Motion and Heat Tracking cameras, there’s a raft of innovative technologies being developed and implemented to help retailers understand their customers better. Read more…

Breaking Travel News – The Rise of Small Luxury Hotels and Importance of the Mobile Channel

Luxury hospitality is slowly but surely changing. There’s a marked move towards tailored experiences with a significant departure from opulence and instead, an emphasis on understated class. The recent preference for small luxury hotels over the larger luxury hotel chains serves to highlight the consumer desire for a more personal, as well as personalised experience that focuses on lifestyle rather than wealth. The travel industry’s booking and browsing trends are also evolving with mobile channels becoming a force to be reckoned with. All in all, it’s just one further indication that the mobile economy is likely to increase its already significant influence in the luxury travel market. Read more…

JINGDAILY – Fashion and Technology Collide in China

The thirst for luxury fashion in China has been spurring on advances in digital marketing. Brands are discovering that just using leading social channels Weibo and WeChat simply isn’t enough to significantly boost sales on- or offline – and that’s where mobile steps in. Complementing the smartphone boom in China, brands are turning increasingly to cutting-edge technology such as Intelligent Mapping and Augmented Reality to create compelling reasons that will drive online consumers offline and one step closer to an in-store purchase. Read more…

Financial Times – Changing Definitions of Luxury Vehicles

The US automotive industry is experiencing higher technological demands from its customers, particularly when it comes to a vehicle’s compatibility with mobile devices. At the recent New York auto show Jim Farley, Ford Motor’s executive vice president, said that consumers no longer necessarily equate a vehicle’s price or its size with its quality. Farley instead warned of the growing importance of integrating mobile technology and offered a $50,000 prize fund to developers to create mobile fuel-tracking apps. Read more…