Luxury Websites Blossom Everywhere, But Many Consumers Do Not Buy Them.

In 2011, entrepreneurs and Investment All of them show special favor to luxury websites, but consumers' recognition of this channel is not clear, and whether luxury websites can survive can also be tested by the capital market. Favor It can not be a consumer choice. online shopping Reasons for luxury.

Recently, China's largest luxury e-commerce website Jiapin net announced the completion of a new round of financing. This round of investment from Intel investment, Jinsha River venture capital, Taishan Angel Fund and other institutions to participate in the amount of financing up to tens of millions of dollars. This is also the fourth time that Jiapin net has received the Taishan Angel Fund since its injection of $1 million in 2010. Behind the financing of Jiapin net, LV, Armani (ARMANI), Cartire (Cartier) and other international "big names" have been laying down their positions to catch up with the online shopping market.

It is understood that Jiapin network is not the only case that this year luxury websites get capital favor. According to incomplete statistics from China Electronic Commerce Research Center, nearly 10 Luxury discount B2C websites in China have invested in VC, with a total investment of more than 500 million US dollars. In the recently disclosed information, the financing of SOS has soared to $100 million.

For the first time, luxury websites made the luxury goods far away from ordinary consumers become only one screen away from the public. Nevertheless, the reality is not necessarily good.

Flowers are becoming more attractive.

In 2007, the US luxury discount website GiltGroupe was formally established in New York. Although it originally sold only 8 brands, its first year achieved sales of $25 million. By the end of 2009, its sales had soared to $180 million. Up to now, GiltGroupe has received 5 rounds of financing. The latest financing was in May of this year. At that time, Softbank group joined Goldman Sachs, teffung Growth Fund and other 5 institutions to jointly inject $138 million into it.

On the Internet, China is almost the mirror of the US market. Therefore, when GiltGroupe starts to become popular, China's luxury consumer market is also expanding.

In the past few years, the scale of China's luxury goods industry has been increasing rapidly at a rate of over 20%. After 2009, it surpassed the United States and became the second largest luxury consumer in the world. With the growing maturity of e-commerce, the 2010-2011 annual global e-commerce research report predicts that in the next two years, the sales volume of luxury e-business in China will exceed 20 billion yuan, and the annual growth rate of the industry will be maintained at more than 100%. The latest data released by Analysys International also showed that in the second quarter of 2011, the scale of China's luxury online shopping market reached 3 billion 450 million yuan, an increase of 19%, and the annual volume of transactions is expected to exceed 16 billion yuan. In 2011, it is also known as the "first year of China" for luxury e-business.

Such a wide market, coupled with the stimulation of GiltGroupe's successful mode, has made domestic entrepreneurs and capital markets eager to try on luxury websites. For a while, luxury websites sprang up in China. {page_break}

Known as the first luxury B2C website in China, Jiapin net was formally established in September 2009. It can provide 1-7 fold global brand-name products for its members. In July 2010, the Shang pin net, which was borrowed from the GiltGroupe model, was formally launched, and after 3 months, it got tens of millions of dollars in investment. Since then, more luxury websites have appeared, and the market has been divided.

In the face of such a prosperous situation of luxury e-business, more electricity providers are beginning to sit still. At the beginning of this year, NetEase launched NetEase products. Sina is also unwilling to lag behind. Sina luxury products sell Chanel, Dior (Dior), Fendi (Fendi) and other famous brands, the product discount is as low as 20 percent off, and some even lower to 60 percent off. Jingdong mall also announced that its luxury website toplife.com will be launched in November.

Zhu Yong, a marketing expert, thinks that shopping websites are popular but with low profits. Therefore, major websites are looking for high speed growth points, and sales of high-end luxury goods are the most outstanding performance.

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The rise of luxury websites on the Internet has undoubtedly brought great convenience to consumers.

In the past, domestic consumers used to buy abroad directly or buy abroad in order to buy new products with high cost performance. However, since the implementation of the Customs General Administration on matters relating to the adjustment of personal postal matters management measures in July 2010, the cost of luxury purchasing has increased. Therefore, the birth of luxury websites is quite timely.

Among these luxury websites, LV, GUCCI (GUCCI), Cartire, omega (OMEGA) and Hermes are all international brands. When the consumer chooses the style of the purchase on the website, they can pay cash on delivery or online payment, then wait at home for delivery.

In order to facilitate consumers to choose the most cost-effective luxury goods from many websites, there are even some special areas for luxury goods price parity. Consumers can buy high quality luxury goods at the most affordable prices through parity. A panning network, which was broken down from Taobao, has set up a luxury area in its business. It integrates the top ten luxury discount websites and Taobao global shopping in the search database to facilitate consumers to choose products with the highest cost performance. The third party B2C online shopping navigation platform "boogle.cn" has also announced the launch of the "luxury online shopping guide" channel, which provides shopping guides for Internet users to purchase luxury goods.

Although luxury websites seem to be booming, their overall sales and user size are not optimistic at the moment.

Statistics show that online luxury sales in 2010 accounted for only 2.6% of the total income of the luxury market. On the scale of users, Analysys International has surveyed 17 mainstream luxury websites in China, of which only 5 members have more than one million members. Chen Shousong, an analyst with Analysys International, believes that there is a high level of user data in luxury websites in China. Many users just registered, but they never shoped on them. This part of the "zombie" user who never shoppers is estimated to account for about 20% of the total website users. According to CNNIC data, as of the end of June this year, the size of China's online shopping users was 173 million, and only 1% of luxury online shopping users. {page_break}

Many tests are difficult to survive.

Luxury websites are not popular, but they are inextricably linked to consumers' lack of trust in websites. A professional with many years of luxury sales experience told IT Time: "consumers' trust in websites is based on the fact that the products offered by luxury websites are genuine, and then the experience of website shopping and after-sales service."

In August this year, some consumers bought Armani's Quartz male watches in Amazon. After checking the counters, they were not certified products, but the subsequent return procedures were rather cumbersome. In this regard, insiders pointed out that some online shopping luxuries are mixed, which easily leads to consumers' lack of confidence in online shopping luxuries.

It is also based on the above situation that the source of goods is considered to be the most important problem faced by luxury websites in China.

It is understood that the majority of luxury goods websites in China are mostly European and American purchasing agents or channel operators. With the strict control of luxury import tariffs, the price advantage will gradually be lost. On the other hand, the reduction of inventory in Europe and America will also make the supply of domestic websites more and more monotonous.

GiltGroupe was primarily sold as a luxury product, but now it is turning to the designer studio to sell the latest works, samples and non products of the famous designers in the fashion circle. In 2010, GiltGroupe had 35%-40%'s women's clothing products licensed by designers. Through this transformation, GiltGroup members have developed from the initial 15 thousand to about 2 million.

For luxury websites in China, GiltGroupe will encounter problems sooner or later. Chen Shou delivers that some websites that imitate the limited time sale mode of foreign brands have been transformed, and no longer simply make luxuries.

If the supply channel is the real bottleneck in the short term of luxury websites, optimizing services is the long-term task faced by luxury websites.

A luxury website that has already got three rounds of financing has 25 days after the customer orders. And its logistics speed can not be compared with luxury goods purchasing.

Another reality that can not be ignored is that compared to traditional store sales, user experience is the obvious short board of luxury websites. The added value of luxury goods, such as the shopping environment of the physical store, emotional experience and noble experience created by the staff service, are all hard to provide by luxury websites at present, which will surely break the consumers' high-end experience of luxury goods.

Some analysts pointed out that for consumers, luxury e-business in China is only the industry shuffle, which can provide perfect shopping experience and services in the future development. This is the most important.