e-Comas has published a groundbreaking white paper on Amazon Luxury Stores – just as the premium platform officially launches in Europe.

Amazon Luxury Stores, which allows luxury brands to sell their wares without competition for the buy box, was launched in the USA in 2020. It's a premium marketplace, differentiated from 'normal' Amazon by its look, feel and level of control for brands.

Coinciding with its launch in Europe, e-Comas has just published its white paper 'When Luxury Meets the Mass Market: Amazon's Quest to Sell the Premium Experience'.

Our survey says...

The e-Comas white paper, an in-depth study of Amazon Luxury Stores in the US and its competition, uses primary research to assess perceptions of luxury on Amazon and whether it can work for brands.

The team at e-Comas interviewed several luxury brands about their eCommerce strategies, gauging their attitudes towards Amazon and how they might use eCommerce in the future.

We also conducted a wider survey of brands to determine Amazon's 'must-haves' in pivoting to luxury.

Almost everyone we surveyed agreed that people buy luxury online more since the pandemic.

Our survey gave us insight into the perceived challenges for Amazon in selling luxury: such as the level of customer service, the 'everyday' nature of the Amazon brand, and lack of protection against the competition.

We used the information from our survey to assess the success of Amazon Luxury Stores against these perceived challenges.

Our verdict is that Amazon Luxury Stores is an ideal opportunity for luxury brands, especially in terms of their online presence.

The new platform allows luxury brands to have a presence on the world's biggest marketplace, and protect their brand from counterfeit sellers.

The customer experience

The white paper also includes a full breakdown of the Amazon Luxury Stores experience for customers, from the overall look and feel of the homepage, to ordering a product and its Prime delivery.

We compared it to the websites of Chanel and Louis Vuitton to assess how luxury shopping can be transported online.

In an engaging, easy-to-read format, our white paper includes the history of luxury on Amazon, benefits of the new platform, and a full analysis of how it works.

We've also included expert tips on how luxury brands can make the most of Amazon Luxury Stores, such as using it to target customers who want to replenish cosmetics items they've bought before.

Now in Europe, too

Our white paper examines Amazon Luxury Stores in the US. The European platform, launched this summer, follows the same blueprint, and is available in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK.

So far it has attracted nine brands – Altuzarra, Boglioli, Christopher Kane, Dundas, Elie Saab, Jonathan Cohen, Mira Mikati, Rianna + Nina, and Wires.

Ruth Diaz, VP Amazon Fashion Europe, says: “This is just the beginning, and we look forward to continuing to support brands with innovative tools and resources so they can share their latest collections and unique stories with our customers across Europe season after season.”

Dundas, which joined Amazon Luxury Stores in the US in 2020, told UK newspaper The Guardian that sales have grown to up to 30% of its direct-to-consumer business.*

'A valuable tool for luxury brands'

Amalia Sebakunzi-Widder, Chief Operations Officer at e-Comas, says: “We are delighted to launch this major white paper, which we hope will bring real value to the eCommerce industry.

“Amazon has missed out on the luxury market for a long time: our research clearly shows that it's perceived as a mass-market, everyday platform, which doesn't equate with luxury.

“But Amazon has worked hard to create a distinct, premium marketplace that will attract luxury shoppers, and will finally give luxury brands the space they need on Amazon, to maintain their all-important online presence.

“We've dug deep into what makes luxury work online, and we think Amazon's new platform has what it takes.

“Our white paper will be a valuable tool for luxury brands, giving them everything they need to know about Amazon Luxury Stores to aid their decision-making process.

“At e-Comas we're great believers that luxury brands should be on Amazon: increasingly, it's where consumers expect to see your products, and one of the first places they look when shopping around.

“We're very excited to publish our white paper at the same time as Amazon Luxury Stores is launching in Europe, so that luxury brands, as well as all our customers and friends in the eCommerce industry, can learn all about it from us – a trusted agency made up of friendly Amazon experts.

“We're also very excited to see Amazon Luxury grow.”

Download the white paper here