Simplicity in website layout and structure is an important factor in luxury
fashion website design. Several luxury brands seem to underestimate this
factor and end up developing websites cluttered with multiple pages and
excessive information. The luxury fashion website ought to be easy to navi-
gate in terms of product search and highly relevant in terms of information
content.
Functionalityinvolves elements that contribute to the flawless online
shopping transaction process. These include the number of clicks from prod-
uct view to the checkout point; product display and e-merchandizing tech-
niques; the security of online transactions; payment method choices; currency
conversion; and the overall shopping transaction speed.
The purchasing and transactional process should be quick without too
many click-through pages. At the same time, customers should be given the
possibility to store their product selection and return at will to order and pay.
There should also be the possibility to check product stock and reserve goods
to try on and purchase in the physical stores.
In addition, a website’s functionality is enhanced through tools such as
multiple language choices to satisfy the global base of luxury consumers.
While it is impossible to provide alternative website text in all the languages
understood by consumers, the ideal luxury brand’s website should have an
extensive language choice apart from the classic English, French, Italian and
Japanese. The language options should also not be automatically restricted by
the locations. This means that if a luxury brand has different web contents for
different markets, the language choice given to the online consumer to view
those contents should not be limited to the language spoken in that particular
market. Thus the consumer could select their location and then select the
language in which they would like to view the contents of the website in that
location. For example, if a consumer is in France and would like to view the
website in English or in Spanish, the website contents would display the infor-
mation relevant to the French market in the language selected by the consumer.
This is contrary to the assumption of several luxury brands that every consumer
who lives in France automatically wants to view websites in the French
language. Exceptions to this are Cartier.com and denim brand Levi.com.
Interactive featuressuch as animations are also important usability tools
which are highly valued by luxury consumers. It is imperative to retain a focus
on the characteristics of online consumers and to design the website in accor-
dance with their expectations. However, interactive features should be imple-
mented in moderation and with a relentless focus on the brand’s aura and
long-term equity. Several brands are often carried away by incorporating high
interactivity features on their websites without considering their brand person-
ality and the requirements of their target audience which is quite wrong.
The usability and functionality choices made for the website should reflect
the core strengths and purposes of the brand and add value to the online shop-
per’s web experience. For instance, if customers expect reliable and fast220
luxury fashion branding