TY - JOUR
T1 - Online customer engagement in the post-pandemic scenario
T2 - A hybrid thematic analysis of the luxury fashion industry
AU - Hoang, Duc
AU - Kousi, Sofia
AU - Martinez, Luis F.
N1 - This work was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (UID ECO/00124/2019, UIDB/00124/2020 and Social Sciences DataLab, PINFRA/22209/2016), POR Lisboa and POR Norte (Social Sciences DataLab, PINFRA/22209/2016).
PY - 2023/9
Y1 - 2023/9
N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic had a strong impact on all businesses, and especially the luxury sector. As an adaptation strategy, businesses are engaging in a digital transformation, moving all or most of their activities to online platforms. However, the nature of the luxury industry, deeply rooted in exclusivity and a high degree of human contact, is at odds with the mass-oriented, accessible, and automated nature of e-commerce, thus raising concerns about this industry’s ability to reap the benefits of digital transformation. The present paper elucidates how luxury fashion firms can overcome this apparent incompatibility with e-commerce and engage with their customers successfully. Through hybrid thematic analysis of qualitative data from YouTube videos of 96 luxury fashion industry experts and using a conceptual model of Customer Engagement, recommendations were developed to help luxury firms improve their current and prospective online customer engagement efforts systematically. By highlighting their top priorities–including innovative solutions, era adaptation, and resource allocation–, luxury firms could enhance and manage customer activities more effectively in the context of a digital transformation, and ultimately establish a strong post-pandemic position.
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic had a strong impact on all businesses, and especially the luxury sector. As an adaptation strategy, businesses are engaging in a digital transformation, moving all or most of their activities to online platforms. However, the nature of the luxury industry, deeply rooted in exclusivity and a high degree of human contact, is at odds with the mass-oriented, accessible, and automated nature of e-commerce, thus raising concerns about this industry’s ability to reap the benefits of digital transformation. The present paper elucidates how luxury fashion firms can overcome this apparent incompatibility with e-commerce and engage with their customers successfully. Through hybrid thematic analysis of qualitative data from YouTube videos of 96 luxury fashion industry experts and using a conceptual model of Customer Engagement, recommendations were developed to help luxury firms improve their current and prospective online customer engagement efforts systematically. By highlighting their top priorities–including innovative solutions, era adaptation, and resource allocation–, luxury firms could enhance and manage customer activities more effectively in the context of a digital transformation, and ultimately establish a strong post-pandemic position.
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-022-09635-8
DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-022-09635-8
M3 - Article
SN - 1389-5753
VL - 23
SP - 1401
EP - 1428
JO - Electronic Commerce Research
JF - Electronic Commerce Research
IS - 3
ER -