Balenciaga, Fendi top online purchasing experience ranking

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Oct 11, 2016

Balenciaga and Fendi have topped the online purchasing experience performance ranking for 2016, taken this year in New York by ContactLab, after 2015's report covered the Milanese online market.

With a focus on luxury brands, the research firm set about creating an online exercise of buying (and returning) products from 31 mono-brand websites and five multi-brand retailers. More specifically, how the online experience was for New Yorkers.

Balenciaga and Fendi ranked equal first, ahead of Saint Laurent (3), while Cartier (8), Louis Vuitton (17) and Hugo Boss (31) lost ground, compared to the last online performance report issued in 2015 for Milan.

Burberry (13) and Prada (27) were the only two 'megabrands' to improve, said report authors, while Gucci (16) remained stable on the ranking.

Italy's Ferragamo (30), Moncler (28) and Tod's (20) continued to lag, said ContactLab, while Chanel and Coach (both 4th), performed at the top of the industry, said researchers.

Net-a-Porter (NAP) group continued to outperform the "incumbent department store chains" and their online operations, said ContactLab in its findings, adding the results prove wrong "the hypothesis that under-pressure (American) department stores would stage a quick digital catch-up with the online pure plays."

NAP ranked 6th on the list, compared to Saks at 13th, Nordstrom at 18th, Barney's at 26th, and Bergdorf Goodman at 35th. 

Overall, ContactLab praised Kering for its online shopping performance in New York. It said the findings were more 'balanced' for CFR, positive for YNAP, and mildly negative for Cartier. 

Meanwhile, LVMH took a small step backward, it said, with progress at small brands being offset by an apparent regression at LV. Researchers advised that Ferragamo "could see greater upside if the new CEO succeeds in moving forward on digital."

To formulate the ranking, ContactLab took into consideration a brand's digital touch points, response strategy to abandoned carts, customer service assistance levels, ordering layout, purchasing and returns communications, physical touch points, packaging, and delivery, among other categories.

The firm said luxury e-commerce accounted for nearly all of the market’s growth in 2016, with market share is set to double to 15% in 2020.