An AP article, titled Designer Fashions Flourish Online, explored the trend of luxury shoppers choosing online sites to purchase experience-price-driven goods:

Having overcome the challenge of persuading fashion designers to sell online and doubts that shoppers like Forehand won't buy expensive dresses without being able to try them on, retailers are finding a flourishing designer business in cyberspace. According to Forrester Research, luxury online sales, including jewelry and designer fashions, rose 28 percent to $3.2 billion last year from the previous year. That was faster than the 22 percent increase in total online sales, excluding travel, which reached $109 billion in 2005.

The cost of producing and maintaining a website is much cheaper than having to staff a store, pay a lease, and visually merchandise a store, so the numbers reflected via online luxury shopping is significant.

Also, according to the article, it’s another way for luxury brands to attract a younger generation to the store, developing a great relationship with returning visits. This expansion of their target demographics and core customers, enables the companies to drive profits.

Store executives see their Internet business as a way to drive new and younger customers to their stores. At saks.com, the average age of the customer is in her late 30s, compared to age 48 for the store shopper. About 40 percent of its online customers live outside of the Saks Fifth Avenue trading area…To keep sales churning, upscale department stores are expanding their selection online as they try to attract new and younger customers. And Internet-only global luxury players like net-a-porter.com and yoox.com are offering more cutting-edge designer labels and special services aimed at their biggest spenders.

While many company’s may have been skeptical of the impact and success of online luxury shopping because they felt that customers needed to be catered to through person-to-person (or salesperson to customer) ass-kissing interaction, this proves that if you have a great product, people will find a way to buy it without the in-store attitude.