KPIs That Matter: Driving Growth for Luxury Fashion Brands in E-Commerce

Assessing the contribution of e-commerce to a retail business serves two critical functions: it defines the P&L for the e-commerce segment and shapes the development of a digital strategy that aligns with the company’s overarching goals.
Once a unified vision is in place across the organization, the next step is to establish clear objectives and select the most relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These KPIs allow companies to track whether strategic decisions are leading to measurable improvements in line with business goals.

For luxury fashion brands, traditional e-commerce KPIs — such as Add-to-Cart Rate, Conversion Rate, and Digital Revenues — are typically adapted from transactional models. This KPI framework works indeed well for companies that are e-commerce-driven. For example, Amazon is built around selling physical products, but its business is fundamentally driven by e-commerce, with KPIs focused on online transactions. On the other hand, platforms like Udemy and Epic Games, which sell digital products such as courses and games, rely entirely on online sales without the need for physical inventory or logistics.

For fashion brands like Zara or MyTheresa, where the in-store experience is less central or the physical presence is minimal, these KPIs are also effective.

However, luxury brands present a more complex picture. For them, e-commerce is just one part of an integrated, immersive brand experience, and conventional KPIs may not fully capture the richness of customer interactions, brand perception, or loyalty — key elements of success in high-end retail.

UNIQUE ASPECTS OF CUSTOMER JOURNEYS

Several factors uniquely shape the luxury customer journey. First, competition among luxury brands is far less intense compared to the mass-market segment. When a customer chooses a specific handbag from a brand, a slightly subpar online experience is unlikely to drive towards another brand. The switching barrier is much higher than in transactional businesses, where seamless online interactions often dictate customer loyalty.

Moreover, luxury brands have long been anchored in the in-store experience. They are neither web-first nor web-only businesses. E-commerce was introduced not to replace but to complement their brick-and-mortar presence, enhancing overall performance rather than serving as the primary sales channel.

It’s also essential to recognize that these brands don’t sell digital products; their physical products are meant to be part of a larger experiential journey. The nature of luxury goods makes the in-person element particularly crucial. Customers want to feel the fabric, admire the craftsmanship, and immerse themselves in the brand’s ambiance. These tactile interactions are a vital part of the decision-making process, much like test-driving a car before purchase. In this context, a luxury purchase transcends a simple transaction — it becomes an emotional and immersive experience.

A central figure in delivering this immersive experience is the client advisor, whose role extends far beyond facilitating a purchase. Acting as brand ambassadors, client advisors are instrumental in establishing meaningful relationships with customers, understanding their unique preferences, and providing personalized recommendations. Through attentive and knowledgeable guidance, they help transform each visit into a memorable experience, fostering loyalty and encouraging repeat visits. In luxury retail, the client advisor’s expertise and attentiveness are not just service enhancements; they are pivotal to achieving lasting success.

Finally, the high price point of the goods often makes customers hesitant to buy online without first experiencing the product in person. They want to ensure that key aspects such as size, color, and material meet their expectations, while also gaining confidence in the overall quality and feel of the item.

Taken together, these factors make it clear that in the luxury industry, online and offline experiences are deeply intertwined, making it difficult to assess e-commerce performance in isolation with conventional KPIs.

IS “E-COMMERCE” THE RIGHT WORDING?

These observations highlight that customers often prefer to include a store visit as part of their purchase decision-making journey. Brands, in turn, actively encourage this by steering customers toward the in-store experience, where deeper, long-term relationships can be cultivated, rather than prioritizing a quick online sale.

Transaction data underscores the importance of in-store engagement: despite offering the same products, metrics like Units per Transaction, Average Unit Retail, and, consequently, Average Order Value are consistently higher in stores, while Return Rates are lower. This highlights how online and offline channels play distinct, complementary roles, creating a seamless, integrated luxury shopping experience.

Given the close integration of online and offline experiences, it’s worth reconsidering whether “e-commerce” is even the right term. A more fitting description might be “online presence”, as digital channels in luxury retail aim to complement, rather than replace, the immersive in-store experience that defines the brand.

SYSTEM THINKING CONSIDERATIONS

When revisiting the discussion of primary KPIs, it becomes evident why traditional online-centric metrics fall short in capturing the full complexity of the luxury brand ecosystem. While metrics like Add-to-Cart Rate, Conversion Rate, and Digital Revenues can still provide useful insights in certain contexts, they are not suitable as “north star” metrics for a strategy that emphasizes the offline experience.

A well-regarded approach to optimizing system performance is the Toyota Kata method, which focuses on assessing the current state and conducting iterative experiments to gradually move toward target conditions aligned with the broader vision. The success of this approach depends on a measurement system that captures trends and ensures that changes are consistently moving in the right direction.

Take the example of a racing car: reducing the car’s weight might seem like an easy win for increasing speed, but if the measurement system focuses solely on weight as a leading indicator for velocity, replacing the engine with a smaller one might be viewed as an improvement. However, this could result in a slower car due to reduced power.

Similarly, adopting e-commerce Conversion Rate as a “north star” metric poses the risk of optimizing for a local maximum. Enhancing the online experience could inadvertently draw attention away from store visits, leading to diminished overall business performance. While improved digital metrics may align with better company results in some cases, this is not guaranteed. To use a fitting geographical analogy, relying on such a metric is like navigating with a compass that occasionally points north and occasionally doesn’t — hardly the kind of tool you’d trust to guide your journey.

WRAPPING IT UP

At this stage of the discussion, a crucial question emerges: if the traditional KPI triplet falls short, what is the better alternative? Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer. The challenge with conventional KPIs is that they attempt to isolate the digital segment, whereas for luxury brands, the online and offline experiences are deeply intertwined. Any improved approach must offer a holistic perspective, though this inherently makes such KPIs more complex to calculate than straightforward metrics like the online Add-to-Cart Rate.

In the next article, we’ll take a deeper dive into the e-commerce funnel and introduce new indicators that are better suited for a comprehensive analysis.

The good news is that while the north star metric should be holistic, the action plan can still focus on specific areas. However, for optimal results, the strategy will likely need to integrate digital actions, in-store initiatives, and a combination of both.

M.P.