Covid-19 Restrictions and First-Hand Luxury: Oil and Water

Nowadays, it seems like #Covid-19 has become a gloomy part of normal life. Masks everywhere, social distancing, low social-life; all necessary but still depressing to watch. Not only has the pandemic hit hospitals, people and jobs very hard, it has also changed how businesses operate; for long-term or short-term.

Thankfully, there have been exciting developments in vaccines announced recently, and it seems that this gloomfest will start to lift despite the rising cases. However, much damage has already been done, more importantly to the hundreds of thousands of deaths, but also to businesses; such as luxury companies.

A large percentage of the huge hit that luxury outlets have taken is due to new regulations in physical shopping. Many choose to stay home instead of browsing through stores, careful to avoid the virus as much as possible. This may not affect sales when it comes to less valuable goods like perhaps a new pan, or a pack of scrunchies. However, when you’re spending luxury #money on valuable goods that have prices ranging in the thousands, in-person purchasing is vital.

The ability to feel, try on or hold the #luxury item in your hand before buying it is what gets most consumers to bite the bullet and get the item. Being able to carefully feel and examine every single detail to make sure the item is perfect is vital for most buyers. Also, seeing it in person guarantees immediate gratification, without the long wait of a few weeks synonymous with online shopping. Seeing it online removes all those features, and most consumers would rather not take the risk of possibly spending thousands on an item they don’t love.

Another large portion of luxury shoppers comes from travelers. Luxury fanatics will travel specifically to landmark locations such as the Paris Chanel Rue Cambon store to buy bags to experience the history in the process. Another thing that comes with restricted traveling; people have nowhere to wear the items they’ve bought. What’s the point of dropping thousands on a bag when you’re not even sure the next time you can use it? Unless you're a collector, it’s simply not practical to splurge in current conditions. Without these shoppers, there is a large deficit in the sales of luxury items.

I know from a personal perspective that in-person shopping has gone from something fun and exciting to something slow, boring and unengaging. Standing in long lines far apart from others, not being able to swatch makeup, not being able to try on clothes; it takes the fun out of it. Many shoppers crave the luxury shopping experience, and in current conditions it's simply a ghost of what it was.

Interestingly enough, the second-hand luxury market has actually significantly increased. Sites like Farfetch, Poshmark, etc. have increased traffic up to 30 percent due to the influx of people looking to indulge in luxury without the prices. During this pandemic, luxury stores have raised prices drastically, so why not buy secondhand to avoid those price increases and save a few coins? Usually the items are barely damaged, and the liability of a brand new item is erased. Before, shopping secondhand, though popular, didn't give shoppers the same, in-person luxury buying experience, but with Covid-19, all of that is gone.

The point of the story is; Covid-19's restrictions and first-hand luxury markets mix like oil and water. Even though this pandemic looks like it's chapter is ending soon, the damage has already been done. Will those secondhand shoppers return after the gates reopen? Who knows. The pandemic has already changed so many things, and only time can tell.