Opinion / Luxury brands need to rethink delivery in the digital age, because whether you’re buying an Hermès handbag or designer furniture, the ‘last mile’ matters
Whether its bad packaging, rude customer service or a lack of personal touch, poor online shopping experiences are a wasted opportunity for luxury brands to stand out
This article is part of STYLE’s Inside Luxury column.
What many brands omit is that the brand experience needs to be seamless in all aspects, including the delivery. This is where many fail. I recently ordered a set of luxury chaise longues for my outdoor pool area. And while the pieces from the Spanish high-end furniture brand Vondom were stunning – the last mile wasn’t.
I was promised the delivery on a Friday during a specific time slot in the morning. I cleared my calendar, did not accept any external meetings and waited for hours. By early afternoon, I became suspicious and called the customer service of the shipping company. They told me that their computer systems were down and all delivery appointments that were made online (mine was one of them) were cancelled. I lost half of a workday, just to get a grumpy “customer service representative” on the line, who told me she could not help, and I should try again on Monday.
Long story short, the items were delivered several days later, but the delivery staff refused to bring them to the dedicated spaces, unpack them, and take the packing material back. While all other points in the digital purchasing process were convenient and flawless, the “last mile” was a catastrophe. The problem: we always remember the first and last impression. And if the last impression is terrible, the entire brand experience is tainted.
