Online strategies of brands: A case of Portuguese luxury fashion designers

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The assertive online strategies of Portuguese luxury fashion brands/designers (LFBDs) are essential for managers to succeed in the digital medium and establish long-lasting relationships with clients. This paper explores the challenges in digitizing all the distinctive elements of a luxury fashion brand: the product characteristics, the luxury atmosphere, the personalization of the service, and the services provided. Fourteen Portuguese brands/designers were selected for content analysis. According to Hansen’s framework, 43% of Portuguese LFBDs fail to share information about their companies on their websites, and only 43% include promotions. Only 36% have a community outside the websites, compared to 93% of the international luxury fashion brands. Moreover, Portuguese websites lack 360° technology and augmented reality. Considering the Digital Visual Merchandising – MVD Grid, Portuguese LFBDs do not allow multiple zooms and 2D F/T cursor change, while international brands feature these tools. Regarding the Social Media Performance Analysis Grid, the global average engagement rate of Portuguese LFBDs on Facebook is 0.19% and on Instagram – 0.89%. According to Social Media Content Analysis Grid, Portuguese brands bet a lot on sharing content in story format, mainly on Instagram; however, Facebook has a higher network value. Therefore, the findings show that Portuguese LFBDs should be present and market their products online. This online presence must be supported by a multi-channel strategy while maintaining luxury product characteristics and elements of differentiation.

Acknowledgment
This study is partially financed by the Portuguese national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, under the project UIDB/05422/2020.

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    • Figure 1. Comparison of network values between Facebook and Instagram
    • Figure 2. Comparison of the number of updated posts on Facebook and Instagram
    • Figure 3. Average engagement rate of Portuguese LFBDs on Facebook
    • Figure 4. Average engagement rate of Portuguese LFBDs on Instagram
    • Table 1. Sample of Portuguese design luxury fashion brands
    • Table 2. Results of Hansen’s grid
    • Table 3. Analysis of Facebook and Instagram contents
    • Conceptualization
      Sandrina Teixeira, José Luís Reis, Sofia Ferreira
    • Methodology
      Sandrina Teixeira, Sofia Ferreira
    • Validation
      Sandrina Teixeira, José Luís Reis, Belém Barbosa, Sofia Ferreira
    • Writing – original draft
      Sandrina Teixeira, José Luís Reis, Belém Barbosa, Sofia Ferreira
    • Writing – review & editing
      Sandrina Teixeira, José Luís Reis
    • Formal Analysis
      José Luís Reis, Sofia Ferreira