IADS Exclusive - Beyond sales: how brand ambassadors redefine in-store luxury

Over the past decade, the retail market has undergone a profound transformation fueled by technological innovation, evolving consumer habits, and shifting employee expectations. While many analysts predicted that the rise of e-commerce and omnichannel strategies would mean the death of brick-and-mortar stores and department stores alike, the opposite happened past the closures accelerated by the pandemic. Nowadays, physical retail tends to thrive, with a renewed demand for immersive in-store experiences (this has been recently exemplified by the many customers queuing to enter Louis Vuitton x Murakami pop-up stores in January 2025).  

Beyond store concept spectacles, the true differentiation from one brand to another lies in the quality of the sales staff in delivering exceptional service, especially with the growing importance of VICs. According to BoF, 75% of shoppers are likely to spend more after receiving high-quality service from store personnel. This is truly important for luxury brands as top-spending luxury customers are expected to create 65 to 80% of global market growth by 2027, as mentioned by BoF. Sure, this evolution can create tremendous business opportunities for those brands. However, it also comes with significant challenges in understanding how to upgrade the customer experience and redefine the profile, role and tools of retail teams, as well as the strategies to attract and retain top-tier talent.

IADS provides its members with a weekly in-depth analysis on retail-oriented topics. 

*IADS Exclusives are for members only. You can subscribe to our Substack to recieve our weekly exclusives here.*