Anyone still convinced that luxury brands need to project a degree of aloofness should check out Prada’s 70,000 or so ‘friends’ on Facebook or Cartier’s MySpace page that features downloadable songs from the likes of Lou Reed.


After dragging their heels for a decade, the luxury giants are taking bold strides through the digital landscape. And this involves interacting with consumers in a way that museum-like flagship stores and glossy or glacial ad campaigns never can.


Take Ralph Lauren, which became the first luxury retailer to launch a mobile commerce site in the US: from their mobile phones, customers can now shop for the entire Ralph Lauren range. Traffic to the mobile site is driven through 2D barcodes located on print ads, mailings, and store windows.


Or consider Chanel’s groundbreaking iPhone application for on-the-go fashionistas. The application features a news feed including backstage exclusives, a complete wrap-up of the autumn/winter ’08/’09 Haute Couture looks with zoomable video, and store locator that provides users with an interactive itinerary to the closest Chanel shop.


Another hallowed brand dabbling in mobile devices is Louis Vuitton, 
which has adapted its long-established Louis Vuitton City Guides, with Soundwalk, a collection of audio guides that accompanies well-heeled travellers through the streets of Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Each downloadable Soundwalk mp3 retails for €12.


Anyone still convinced that interaction is irrelevant in such a service-driven sector might be impressed by Cartier. As well as the European and US MySpace campaign, the company has targeted the Japanese market with a homepage that allows online shoppers to surf the company’s entire catalogue three ways: Guide Me (a user pathenhanced with decision-making tools), Tell Me (a journey through the history, heritage and values of Cartier) and Show Me (a directory of the online store). With content and functionalities cherry-picked for each navigation mode, e-commerce itself becomes a service experience.


With the downside of globalisation now being assessed by the 
luxury house’s shareholders, expect a whole slew of innovations designed to encourage customers to connect to brands 24 hours a day, seven 
days a week.