Okonkwo Prelims

and product offerings online. Other characteristics of the current online

luxury consumers comprise the following:

• Restless


• Empowered


• Fashion-savvy


• Highly demanding


• Disposable nature


• Convenience-driven


• Cash-rich and time-poor


• Media and brand saturated


• Individualistic and independent


• Informed, knowledgeable and educated


• Financially, socially and environmentally aware


• Less attuned to brand loyalty and more attuned to brand-hopping


• Busy Busy Busy Busy Busy Busy Busy Busy Busy Busy Busy Busy Busy

Although online consumers are attuned to switching between brands, they are

also likely to be repeat visitors and repeat buyers if they find a website visit

enjoyable. At the same time, they are less likely to return to a website which

they found unsatisfying than they are to return to a physical store. This is

because the physical store could be located in the same vicinity as other

retailers the customer visits or other activities the customer partakes in. This

factor is however inapplicable online.

Online consumers are unique because they are easy recruits as ‘brand evan-

gelists’. Current pointers show that the chance of ‘word-of-mouth’ promotion

of effective websites versus effective offline distribution channels is more than

50 per cent. Also, viral marketing or ‘word-of-mouse’, which involves forward-

ing web pages to others, is most effective with satisfied online consumers.

The acquisition and retention of the sophisticated and savvy online

consumer set might seem impossible through the internet, which lacks the

human charm and interface. However this objective could be approached

through the four-step process of marketing communications, as follows:

Attention >>Interest >> Desire >> Action

This framework may sound simplistic or indicate a transactional outlook but

it is an important tool in the process of online customer persuasion.

Attention is the first step to online purchase probability. How does a website

grasp a consumer’s attention? This can be attained through a captivating

homepage design, ease of navigation, excellent functionality, interactivity

and clear and concise text and contents. These features lead to the ‘stickiness’

of consumers to the website.

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luxury fashion branding