COVID-19 is encouraging luxury brands to prioritize their digital businesses. Luxury jacket maker Moncler plans to bring its digital operations in-house and double e-commerce sales to 20 per cent of its business by 2023. Owner of brands including Gucci and Saint Laurent, Kering increased the share of e-commerce in its total retail sales to 13 per cent in the first half of 2020 while LVMH saw strong performance across its own e-commerce channels, as opposed to online sales through other retailers.”

Though e-commerce hasn’t been able to completely offset the losses suffered by luxury companies due to closed stores and plunge in international tourism, it has softened the blow. For instance, the online sales of Prada grew by 150 per cent in the first half of year versus the same period last year, despite total sales falling by 40 per cent

Digital sales accounted for 12 per cent of luxury sales at the start of the year, according to management consultancy Bain & Company. But luxury e-commerce’s growth has outpaced the market overall, partly because millennials and Gen Z shoppers make up a rising share of high-end consumer By 2025, online sales could account for nearly 30 per cent of the luxury market, Bain estimates.