Imagine the perfect place for buying your dream Swiss watch, a luxury hand made handbag, a vintage cognac or the most beautiful artisan diamond necklace. What would you need?
To Feel relaxed? Trusting the seller? Plenty of time to make the decision? Being able to wear it straight away? Finding limited edition pieces? Learning the story of the craftmanship? Knowing the value was the best?
Well, if you hadn't realized it... all of those questions can help to explain the question in the title of this blog, why does luxury work so well in cruise ships? Answer... because all the ingredients for the perfect 'luxury recipe' are onboard to make it one of the most ideal locations you can imagine to showcase the best of the best.
Feeling Relaxed
When you are on vacation on a cruise, the chances are you will be feeling much more relaxed than when you are in an airport. You will have seen a show, you will have eaten in a wonderful world class restaurant, you will have visited some interesting destinations, you will have sampled some wonderfully created cocktails and maybe sat and read a book whilst lounging by the pool. And maybe, you will be celebrating a big occassion, a birthday, a marriage, a promotion, a proposal, a reunion.. many different reasons to feel relaxed! You will feel motivated to have a look around the onboard shops and you will be intrigued to have a look at a luxury watch, maybe for the first time.
Then there is the environment also. The best luxury shops on cruise ships embue the calm, informal and relaxed surroundings. They invoke the brand, and they connect perfectly with the feeling and celebrations of the cruise. So many amazing luxury boutiques onboard cruise ships convey the many different product categories and feelings needed to make guests feel welcome and special.
Trusting the seller
As said in a previous blog article, on cruise ships people buy people. The trust, personality, empathy and integrity of the onboard retailers are one of the most universal reasons why luxury works on cruise ships. Connecting with a great salesperson over multiple days in a week long cruise can build a lasting relationship. The knowledge, the confidence and the suitability of recommendation can be one of the single most important parts of the luxury journey onboard the cruise vessel. From that first welcome on the first walk-in to the jewelry store, to the personal letter delivered to your cabin, from the glass of champagne waiting for you at your appointment, to the follow-up to make sure you are having a great cruise. The personal touch is one of the most wonderful and unique parts of the luxury success on cruise ships. Having a brand ambassador who guests can connect with over multiple days is a luxury brand's dream. And cruise ship luxury ambassadors, are some of the best in the business.
Plenty of time to make the decision
The most unique part of the cruise retail experience is 'Time'. No other retail channel anywhere in the world has the luxury of what cruise retail does in terms of time. When around 80% of cruisers are onboard for 7 days, then in the world of luxury, alongside the seller, time is the most powerful ingredient. Once you put a watch on your wrist, or a ring on your finger, there is an emotional connection. That feeling, that desire, that urge is locked in and then time can work its magic! With mutliple days to make an ever increasing emotional connection to a product, it is one of the best ways that the luxury journey can happen across the duration of the voyage from day 1 right through to the end of the cruise.
Wearing it straight away
The cruise ship environment is the ultimate 'buy now, wear now' environment. Have a read of our blog on the difference between cruise and airport retailing on why this is important to understand. Cruise ships sell to guests who most of the time would love to showcase what they purchased at the perfect opportunities. Particularly with luxury jewellery, the chance to dress to impress and to celebrate the occassion sits at the core of the onboard evening cruise experience. Cruise retailing offers luxury buyers the perfect "catwalk" to showcase what they have just purchased in the best possible way.
Finding limited edition pieces
Discovery is a wonderful part of the luxury experience onboard cruise ships, finding new brands, finding new precious gemstones, finding new craftsmanship. Limited edition is the perfect way for luxury to communicate its uniqueness and connection to the onboard environment. It invokes urgency, connection and bespokeness in a such a simple way. Luxury brands which bring their best unique one-off pieces onto cruise ships will always do well. The story, the prestige and the emotion all come together in a perfect harmony to make the connection to the guest curated by the specialists. On many cruise ships you will find bespoke pieces that can only be found onboard, and this uniqueness can be one of the most exciting parts of the luxury retailing experience at sea.
Learning the story of craftsmanship
The "trunk show" has been the traditional way over many years of bringing unique, well made pieces of jewellery onto cruise ships. Well, the reasoning of what made the trunk show so successful is the core of what makes so much of luxury selling so strong. Sharing the amazing stories behind these distinctive brands. The stories of how items are made by hand, how the designs are chosen, how the materials are selected and how the craftsmanship is at the heart of all the processes comes alive in the cruise retail channel. These stories can be told with time, with trust and with the right environment. They work so well on cruise ships and they connect with guests in a truly unique way.
Knowing the value is the best
So after all the hardwork has been done in the environment, in the team, in the stories and in the pieces chosen, there needs to be one final hook to ensure that the sale happens. In the case of the cruise retail channel, it is the Value. To achieve the final confirmation from the guest that making that decision is key, then the value has to be transparent, trustworthy and competitive. You are entrusting a huge decision on a piece of metal floating on the sea. It needs to be a good one. The price on cruise ships is generally very competitive - most of the time it is tax free (or tax refundable), there is a best price guarantee and there is a manufacturers warranty. The brand has to be approved and this is where the monobrand boutiques / spaces work so well. And the small added extras, such as the thank you letter, the free gift or the glass of champagne all go to defining the value of the purchase.
Innovation is the key
Luxury on cruise ships is evolving fast. New concepts, new stores, new brand and new experiences are enhancing the traditional methodology. We have exciting new concepts, new categories and ideas launching continuously. As new ships launch, as new operators start, the ever changing dynamic of luxury retailing is developing before our eyes. It is truly an exciting and vibrant part of the onboard cruise retail experience and one which will continue to flourish as the needs of the guests change.
So, where to conclude? I will do this by showcasing a great example of all that I have talked about in this blog.
THE BEST EXAMPLE AT SEA OF WHY LUXURY WORKS ON CRUISE SHIPS
To talk you through all the points made in this blog, I want to use a wonderful example to showcase my argument.
For me, no luxury boutique on any cruise ship comes close to the extraordinary and truly unique ROLEX monobrand store onboard EXPLORA I, the first ship from Explora Journeys. The first time I stepped into this space, I was truly blown away by it. It emodies luxury better than any other boutique I have seen on a cruise ship. Period.
Firstly, it is truly unique. It is the only Rolex boutique anywhere on the ocean. It is not duplicated and it has been designed bespokely for this environment.
(PHOTO: EXPLORA JOURNEYS)
This luxury boutique is pure-Rolex but also truly distinctive. A relaxed, welcoming and calm environment with comfortable seating and a warm effervescent quality. An open hublot connecting the guest to the ocean with natural daylight which floods the boutique gives a warm welcoming light, highlighting the pure brand signatures throughout. The Rolex signature green, the feeling of exclusivity but also an extraordinary attention to detail throughout (just look at the yacht polished teak wooden floor).
(PHOTO: EXPLORA JOURNEYS)
The feeling it gives the guest along with the incredible trust the brand purveys is the best possible example on any ship in how luxury can work extremely well. You would spend time here, you would find value here, you would feel relaxed here, you would be connected to the brand completely.
Boutiques and experiences like this will be ever present in the future. As new luxury brands enter the channel and think of truly wondrous ways that they can connect to aspirational guests (perhaps for the first time), the reasons why luxury retailing is perfect for cruise ships will continue to evolve and develop in exciting and unique ways.
The future of luxury on the oceans is bright!
Comments