Aspirational millennials set luxury fashion in their sights
Traditional designers capitalising on millennial money through digital
- 83% of millennials are more likely to visit Gucci than those over 35s
- Louis Vuitton and Supreme partnership drove 23% increase in brand searches[i]
- 45% increase in website traffic to luxury fashion retailers over the past three years
London: With London Fashion Week kicking off on Friday, eyes will be cast on the latest and greatest clothing lines to be spun out of high-end, seemingly out of reach, fashion brands. But what once felt untouchable, is a reality that many millennials are aspiring to and engaging with every day.
According to new Hitwise research half (50%) of website traffic to Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Burberry are driven by a new breed of affluent millennials. The data suggests that high end fashion brands engaging through digital to form a new fan base of avid fashion lovers are quickly realising the power of the millennial click. Overall, traffic to luxury fashion retailers, such as FarFetch and Net-a-Porter, are continuing to rise (45% over the past three years).
Amongst this audience, the Hitwise data shows that Louis Vuitton has seen a 23 per cent increase in searches throughout January year-on-year and a 332 per cent increase in clicks from Facebook over the past three months, compared to last year. The data suggests that Louis Vuitton’s recent collaboration with Supreme was the key driver in successfully connecting with younger audiences. Almost half (40%) of the top ten searches for the luxury brand are now related to “Supreme” and “Louis Vuitton”.
Gucci started on this digital journey to expand its appeal and engage the luxury millennials. It re-invented its image with digital and social media at the heart of its transformation – including a new website which was developed in 2015. Since this, Gucci has witnessed enormous growth in website traffic from social media, including a 190 per cent rise in clicks from YouTube[ii].
Nigel Wilson, managing director at Hitwise says, “With London Fashion Week approaching we can expect to see several brands relying on digital to build relationships with the younger audiences. Creatively embarking on partnerships like Louis Vuitton and Supreme – and developing other creative content – will be crucial to shifting perception from being luxury, and therefore out of reach, into the hands of the powerful millennial audience.”