How to Sell Luxury Products: 20 Unique Strategies to Boost Conversions

More and more shoppers are shopping on the go.

And that goes for luxury shopping as well.

In this article, we’ll talk about:

20 conversion rate optimizations for luxury ecommerce stores

5 reasons why luxury retailers struggle to sell online 

What is a good conversion rate for luxury brands?

A “good” website conversion rate falls between 2% and 5% across all industries.

However, if you sell luxury products, the conversion rates fluctuates between 0.9%-1%.

Anything above can be considered as a good conversion rate for luxury brands.

With such low benchmarks, it's important to make changes to your luxury eCommerce store.

What do shoppers want from luxury eCommerce?

Whenever we look at luxury eCommerce conversion audits, we realise this: luxury shoppers aren’t looking at buying - they’re gathering experiences, status and emotional value. 

On the other hand, luxury purchases are often impulsive or for gift-giving.

According to a study, 20.5% of Millenials bought a high-end luxury item for a particular occasion and 18.5% bought one when they wanted “to treat” themselves. 

If you can remember this, choosing a CRO agency or making conversion optimization efforts becomes easier. 

Here are a few key behavioral aspects to consider when you sell luxury products online:

👉 Oriented towards what’s exclusive: Unlike shoppers in other segments, luxury shoppers much less care for comparison because what they’re driven by is exclusivity - they want what can’t be found anywhere else and are ready to pay for it!

👉 Oriented towards story and heritage: Given the fact that most luxury brands sell to high net worth individuals, one thing is clear - the latter want their purchases to create an experience through story, standing or heritage and add to their social status.

👉 Oriented towards quality: Last, but not the least, most luxury eCommerce buyers are also discerning as far as quality goes and are beyond enthusiastic paying for something just because it’s really well-made or well-crafted.

20 Conversion Rate Optimizations for Luxury eCommerce Stores

In 2025, aim to break the statistic with unique CRO strategies for luxury stores. Wondering how to market luxury products? Read on!

1. Tell them your story

Customers feel like they’re on top of the world if a brand’s story resonates with them, and in turn, they feel the brand can truly offer them what they want. 

In fact it’s this “story’ element that makes 71% of shoppers recommend a brand. 

One luxury eCommerce brand that does a phenomenal job at storytelling is Mulberry:

💠 Pro Tip: Use more video content to strike an instant emotional connect—even if it’s just 3 compelling shots of either behind-the-scenes or an aspirational life playing on loop!

2.  Make craftsmanship shine

This is because craftsmanship creates “value” that shoppers can first feel and would then want to pay towards. 

Highlighting craftsmanship through copywriting is a strategic tactic in luxury eCommerce CRO. 

See how Mejuri sells high-end products: 

💠 Pro Tip: A/B test transactional & non-transactional CTAs to go with a craftsmanship section on the website - you can even play with a third variant that uses both kinds of CTAs. 

3. Begin product pages with your USP

In simple words, differentiation is what can justify a luxury eCommerce charging a high premium for its products. 

And this is why defining your USP becomes super crucial—and bringing right up on your product page a great luxury eCommerce CRO strategy. 

Rolex leads the way to show newer brands how to sell high-end products:

💠 Pro Tip: If you want to employ this tactic to sell luxury goods online, we suggest you lead with emotional differentiation instead of details on superlative features—in short, “handcrafted by third-generation artisans” works better for conversions than “Made from premium Italian leather”.

4. Make product descriptions inspiring

As opposed to “feature talk” which can make shoppers overwhelmed but not necessarily more aware about the value of a luxury product. 

Gucci makes their product descriptions memorable by bringing a dash of history and heritage:

💠 Pro Tip: If you’re wondering how to sell luxury online, know that in product descriptions, the following seem to bring in the most conversions: symbolism, artistry and heritage.

5. Get your products validated by experts 

It’s a great way to justify your pricing and build confidence for purchases that have to do with gifting etc. 

Luxury watch brand Bremont brings expert validation at key junctures to sell high-end products: 

💠 Pro Tip: To become a luxury brand that sells well online, consider getting endorsements from experts and strewing them across collection & product pages.

6. Create trust through material sourcing info

To make your luxury eCommerce CRO game stronger, you’ll have to weave transparency into your entire website. 

Just saying “fine metals from the African subcontinent" may not be enough especially when customers may likely want to hear “coral beads from Nigeria strung together to appeal to New York high fashion tastes.”

Jewelry brand Mejuri takes special care in selling high ticket product:

💠 Pro Tip: Spicing up material sourcing info is a must if you want to stand out amongst competition within the luxury space—one way to do this is to position this as “Editor’s Sourcing Notes” or “Curator’s Sourcing Notes” and driving a sense of exclusivity. 

7. Offer delightful customer support

Talking about differentiation in luxury eCommerce brands, customer support needs to be top notch—not to mention across several channels and mediums. 

Essentially customers need to feel it’s really easy to come to you with purchase-related challenges. 

Tiffany & Co. is well-known for their customer support while selling high ticket products:

💠 Pro Tip: To sell luxury products online and get the conversions in, make sure you’re very clear when your customer support folks won’t be around to check on mail or pick calls - bring out a list of dates that customers can easily refer to, to reduce frustration.

8. Take customer support beyond the sale

Post-purchase is anyway important in eCommerce, it’s even more so in luxury eCommerce. 

That’s because a huge part of how you price your luxury products depends on how much real-time reassurance you can offer the customer—especially post-purchase. 

Louis Vuitton aces this aspect of selling luxury goods online:

💠 Pro Tip: The best luxury brands sell online by treating each shopper as an asset - you can do this too by creating a luxury concierge program over a certain sales threshold - use this to set up styling consultations or offer advice on complementary purchases. 

9. Invite shoppers to pre-order

It’s not only a smart luxury eCommerce CRO strategy to drive exclusivity but also a good way to engage & grow our email list. 

Burberr’s luxury drops often feature “pre-order” as a CTA while dropping high ticket products:

💠 Pro Tip: Create an exclusive pre-order social media campaign where all creatives across handles land shoppers on to specific product pages that have this feature. 

You must also read: Luxury eCommerce Email Marketing: 27 Stunning Examples (& What You Can Learn From Them)

10. Be clever about how you build FOMO

Conversion rate optimization for luxury eCommerce needs to be a step ahead of non-luxury brands—this is especially true when you’re trying to apply an oft-used tactic like FOMO. 

Check out how Tiffany & Co. drives “early access” visitors by using FOMO while selling high ticket products:

💠 Pro Tip: Build FOMO legitimately by highlighting waitlisted products across collection pages to create luxury sales online - accompanying them with a “Join the Waitlist” CTA can also help you grow your email list.

Don't forget to read: Why Is Your Conversion Rate Low: Possible Causes + Solutions

11. Collaborate across genres 

In the recent past, luxury brands have benefited from collaborating with brands and influencers across genres. 

Case in point? Louis Vuitton collaborated with artist Yayoi Kusama to create an impactful campaign—they created an app-based game as part of the collaboration. 

Similarly, Benefit Cosmetics has tried to combine beauty and gaming in order to win over new customer bases:

💠 Pro Tip: Create an antithesis of what your brand is known for if you want your luxury brand collabs to fly - for example, if you’re a minimalist bag brand, go the maximalist way by collaborating with an influencer who leads with that approach, and tap into a fresh new market!

You might also like: Selling on FB Marketplace - 15 Key Considerations for Higher Conversions

12. Offer a choice of CTAs 

To improve conversion rate optimization for luxury eCommerce, you’ll have to put yourself in the customer’s shoes. 

Because high-value spenders are trying to justify their purchase, they’re likely also looking for a “choice” of actions. 

See how Boca Do Lobo, while selling high ticket products applies different CTAs on their product page: 

If your online luxury brand sells ‘collectibles’ or uniquely valued products, you can try the auction route as well. 

💠 Pro Tip: Cluster similar kinds of CTAs together (transactional ones together & so on) if you’re wondering how to sell luxury products online with more ease - while addressing multiple intents, this reduces cognitive load. 

13. Use “as seen in” & “featured in” nudges

We all know what they do—they spike up the social worth of a luxury eCommerce product. 

See how 54kibo has added details about their product inspiration on the product page: 

💠 Pro Tip: Luxury brands that sell online often wheel in better conversions when they contextualize the placement of “as seen in” nudges - for example, on the homepage, the notification bar makes for excellent placement while on ad landing pages, placing them near quality microcopy delivers better results.

14. Integrate virtual try-on

For luxury eCommerce brands, AR/VR can be implemented to replicate an in-store experience. 

Nars uses AR on its online store to offer a personalized try-on experience to sell high ticket products: 

If you want to take it to the next stage, add tips on what could make their try-on experience better.    

💠 Pro Tip: Use relevant microcopy to guide shoppers through the virtual try-on experience and tell them of the benefits to create faster engagement: “find your truest fit” or “let’s match your skin tone”.

15. Write content that helps the journey

Product care is one of the most essential parts of selling luxury eCommerce products. 

See how Harry Winston has the option to explore product care details on the product page: 

When clicked, the brand takes shoppers to a landing page with all the information regarding product care and different components, and the functioning of the products.  

💠 Pro Tip: Write content addressing the entire conversion funnel - this will also help you nurture those who have the capacity to buy but don’t feel as acquainted with your brand just as yet. 

16. Create lean and smooth UX

Smooth UX helps customers shop easily. And when it comes to selling luxury goods online, it can also be memorable. 

Balenciaga uses pop-ups to show information on size guides and further steps for trying it in-store.  

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💠 Pro Tip: Avoid price strikethroughs across your eCommerce store if you’re trying to sell luxury products online, as this can have a “cheapening” UX effect - instead, mention the market price alongside your brand price to show the comparison. 

17. Make gifting easy 

Many luxury eCommerce customers decide on high end products as gifts rather than purchases for themselves. 

And this is what you’ll need to leverage at key junctures of your brand website—be it on the product pages, the menu header or even as cart page prompts: 

💠 Pro Tip: Leverage your main navigation to highlight gifting options across categories and price points - some brands even use interesting keywords (like “Gifts for Mom” and “Gifts for Wifey”) that’ll help in customer segmentation and conversions. 

18. Use tiered membership to attract customers

Even luxury spenders want benefits at the end of the line. 

A tiered membership program can help you influence them in a win-win—drive them towards more conversions by improving the benefits they enjoy: 

💠 Pro Tip: While online luxury spenders want benefits, they are most pleased when they find “privileges” instead - what we’re essentially trying to say is position the benefits as privileges like “Early access to capsule drops”.

19. Make it compelling for impulsive, high-intent shoppers

It’s easy to think all luxury shoppers are lovers of slow. 

The truth is many shoppers come by to luxury stores who have got the cash but don’t have the time. 

And if your store fails to create a differentiated experience for this segment, you’ll lose out on conversions. 

Check out how Dunhill addresses this problem: they promote their ready-to-wear line alongside their customizations.

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💠 Pro Tip: Social proof-led nudges across product pages can be highly effective for impulse shoppers - something to the effect of “Chosen by stylists at [luxury retailer]” or “Worn by [celebrity/model] during Paris Fashion Week” can be really compelling for such on-the-go high intent.

20. Let seasonal lookbooks drive conversions

Most luxury eCommerce brands hope shoppers will arrive at their stores with high intent. 

But in doing audits for such brands, we’ve discovered that many shoppers look to the brand to create enough intent. 

So if you’re asking how to sell luxury products online, you’ll have to create seasonal lookbooks to shape buyer intent towards conversions. 

Exactly what Roller Rabbit does:

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💠  Pro Tip: Incorporate “Shop the Look” CTAs for every scroll in your seasonal lookbook to sell luxury online.

5 Challenges When Selling Luxury Goods Online 

Reason #1. High end brands can’t replicate the personal in-store experience 

When shoppers visit a luxury store, the salespeople offer a VIP experience and are more patient than pushy. 

Some stores even offer refreshments and shop models who try on the products for the customer. This makes it an ‘experience’.  

Furthermore, the brands train their salespeople to cultivate long-lasting relationships with frequent customers. None of this has the opportunity to take place in the online scenario. 

Reason #2. Luxury brands don’t like the usual strategies     

Luxury brands attribute selling online as the opposite of what high-worth shoppers expect. 

Instead, they consider eCommerce as ideal for selling mass-produced products and the usual online selling strategies as ‘tacky’.

Ask a luxury brand to run a survey or a discount banner, and they’ll react negatively. And within good reason. When selling luxury goods online, businesses discover that shoppers hardly want to fill out a form or consider a 20% discount. 

Reason #3. High end brands try to be ‘too exclusive’ 

Luxury eCommerce is all about being exclusive. Any product that is perceived as too ‘common’ or ‘available’ risks losing its luxury aspect. 

Consequently, brands try to use various strategies to keep that luxury status. A few ways include:

1. Not showing the price or even a price range—instead, luxury brands ask shoppers to contact an advisor or visit the physical store
2. Product pages show a lack of product information which is not enough to click the ‘contact the advisor’ CTA    
3. Brands don’t show functional or contextual images. Instead many brands only show a simple product image. However, shoppers can’t understand how the product might look when used in context

Reason #4. Luxury brands struggle with effective online personalization 

The majority of online luxury eCommerce brands today struggle with the ‘art’ of personalization. 

They don’t have try-on options or don’t allow shoppers to switch materials and gems even if they feature basic sizing personalization.

The inability to customize something instantly often makes online luxury shoppers impatient enough to abandon their cart or journey. 

Reason #5. Luxury brands can’t convey their unique brand story

Similarly, online luxury brands face the necessary challenge of coming up with a differentiated “story”, which sets them apart from more well-known brands. 

The reasons behind this are far reaching, right from an inadequate actual exclusive edge to unclear USP and UVP on their websites. 

How we can help:

98% of visitors who visit an eCommerce site—drop off without buying anything. Why: user experience issues that cause friction for visitors. 

And this is the problem ConvertCart solves. We have helped 500+ eCommerce stores (in the US) improve user experience—and 2X their conversions. 

Let us help: Our conversion experts can audit your site—identify UX issues, and suggest changes to improve conversions. And we won’t charge for this one.

Get a free UX audit today.     

Frequently Asked Questions About Selling Luxury Products

1. What is luxury eCommerce?

What sets luxury eCommerce brands apart from regular brands seems to be dictated by three features:

- A high price point

- A sense of exclusive/limited edition availability

- A more customized customer experience & journey 

2. Which products are considered luxury items?

A luxury item is considered as not necessary to live, but as something highly desirable in society.

People shop for luxury items as they are produced from high-quality materials, have limited inventory so not everyone has it, and are considered prestigious.   

3. Where to sell luxury items online?

Firstly, high-end items can be sold online on the brand’s website.

Second, if you are expanding to other countries, then it’s best to sell through established websites that cater to the clientele that suits your buyer’s persona. Also, explore social media and influencer marketing to reach a new audience.  

4. Why luxury brands don’t typically advertise?

Aspiration brands don’t require advertising. Just their name makes an impression.

Luxury brands rather invest their advertising budget in improving product and customer experience. 

However, luxury brands are slowly and quietly making strides by experimenting with pop-ups, lives, influencer marketing, and most importantly, collaborations. 

5. Who are the biggest consumers of luxury goods?

Ranked by yearly revenue, the American luxury goods industry leads all other nations by far, generating around 65 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. 

The Chinese luxury goods industry ranked second with a revenue of around 39 billion U.S. dollars. These two were followed by Japan, France, and Germany. The Statista Consumer Market Outlook estimates that revenue in these markets will continue to increase. 

In the U.S., revenue is estimated to reach around 81.5 billion U.S. dollars by 2025.

Total spending on personal luxury goods by South Koreans year-on-year grew around 24% to $16.8 billion, amounting to $325 per capita.

Moncler said its revenue in South Korea “more than doubled” in the second quarter compared with before the pandemic.

Cartier-owner Richemont Group said Korea was among the regions where sales grew by double digits in 2022, compared with both a year and two years ago. 

Recommended reading to sell high-end products:

6 Ways to Make Your Products Look Exclusive (& Real-world Examples)

International eCommerce Expansion: 15 Commonly-missed Action Items

Cutting edge UX can help you ace luxury eCommerce

98% of visitors who visit an eCommerce site—drop off without buying anything.

Why: user experience issues that cause friction for visitors.

And this is the problem Convertcart solves.

We've helped 500+ eCommerce stores (in the US), including stores selling luxury, improve user experience—and 2X their conversions.

How we can help you:

Our conversion experts can audit your site—identify UX issues, and suggest changes to improve conversions.