Chanel N°5 on Sears Marketplace
Department store chain Sears is now selling luxury items through its online, third-party retail site Sears Marketplace that provides an easy shopping experience. However, it may not win over luxury shoppers with its mass-market reputation.
Since the department store does not exude luxury shopping, many brands are likely hesitant to have their items sold on Sears Marketplace. In addition to competing against luxury brands’ own ecommerce sites, Sears is also facing Amazon and eBay for consumer attention when selling these items.
“Luxury brands may try to distance themselves from this initiative as it can have the effect of making them seem less exclusive,” said Dave Rodgerson, senior management consultant of retail strategy and change at IBM Canada, Toronto.
“Working with Sears Marketplace, these luxury brands will have the advantage of an established ecommerce infrastructure without having to invest their own money,” he said.
“This won’t turn Sears into a luxury retailer, but it may influence consumer perception that these brands are exclusive as they have always been.”
Virtual marketplace
Sears is offering luxury items through a virtual marketplace where it allows third-party retailers to sell items. The products are searchable through Sears’ main Web site.
Rolex timepiece
Luxury products available span a number of categories including apparel and accessories, footwear, jewelry and beauty products.
For instance, third-party retailer ShoeMetro is selling women’s “Chanel tweed fashion mid-calf boots black” for $995.99. The site lists the original price as $1,450.
Chanel tweed boot
Other Chanel products are also available such as its iconic perfume.
Chanel Beige fragrance
Also, a number of third-party retailers are selling Balenciaga items including handbags.
Balenciaga handbag
The Sears Marketplace method is similar to Amazon, which has also been increasing its offers of luxury fashion products.
As Amazon grows its high-end product range, luxury brands that rely on ecommerce for sales must be sure to offer a shopping experience far beyond that on the digital retail giant’s site.
The company’s Amazon Fashion division has been stepping it up recently to provide affluent consumers with high-end products, especially in the contemporary clothing and accessories categories. Luxury goods makers should keep an eye on the site, but it will be a while before Amazon develops a reputation as a luxury marketplace (see story).
“Sears Marketplace is behind Amazon and eBay in online sales, but it does have a significant ecommerce presence,” Mr. Rodgerson said.
However, Sears lacks the product knowledge and experience that luxury brands’ ecommerce sites offer.
“I question why luxury consumers would want to make such purchases through Sears,” said Ron Kurtz, president of the American Affluence Research Center, Atlanta. “Sears cannot offer the pre- and post-sale service and product knowledge that is provided by the traditional retail outlets of these products.
“I don’t understand why upscale brands such as Chanel and Balenciaga would want to make their products available through Sears,” he said.
“A key element of being perceived as a luxury brand is exclusivity, in terms of both product and distribution.”
To buy or not to buy
Although Sears may benefit by selling luxury items in its marketplace, some luxury consumers may not want to purchase their luxury products from Sears due to its reputation.
“When you use the words Sears and Luxury in the same sentence, most industry insiders, let alone consumers, would experience a sense of cognitive dissonance,” Mr. Rodgerson said. “The images evoked by Sears and luxury are almost at odds with one another.
“Most customers would not come to Sears to buy luxury items whether it’s in a flagship store or on Sears.com,” he said.
Since Sears does offer a wide range of products, many affluent consumers are likely already shopping there for other products, so browsing the Sears Marketplace may not seem to strange to them.
“A company such as Sears sells home goods, fashions, beauty, auto services and lifestyle products of the like from mainstream to marginal names,” said Melissa Lynn, wardrobe stylist and founder of Here+Wear, Los Angeles. “This means that they are catering to a range of customers, not financially targeting a specific shopper.
“Higher-end labels have levels of products, so why not distribute respectively among multiple mass market department stores, such as Sears, to increase their accessibility and establish greater reach for various tiers of consumers,” she said.
Final take
Erin Shea, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York