Slow Down the Experience

In this fast paced world, time is precious. Dedicating your time to something requires your attention and your focus. In this article we will look at why it is important for luxury brands to utilise experiences and how it affects their relationship with their customers.

“Luxury is about slowing down the experience. Luxury should give us a reason to pause and reflect, to find room within ourselves and develop personal meaning between our possessions, the buying process and the brand.” 

Anant Sharma, CEO, Matter Of Form: speaking at Walpole's British Luxury Summit 2024

Loro Piana pop-up store in Zermatt

Brands benefit more from providing luxury experiences because they create memories and emotions that strengthen their bond with their customers. ‘Such experiences, including hotels, restaurants, and SPAs, allow brands to have a stronger interaction with their customers without compromising the exclusivity of their brand. On the contrary, this enhances the brand even further and a renewed relationship is built with their customers’ - The future of luxury experiences: Where luxury meets hospitality by Dr Matthias Fuchs.

Luxury experiences allow you to disconnect and be present. They give the opportunity to appreciate surroundings and the people you are with. ‘The goal of luxury is not to overwhelm the guest with opulence. Instead, it should concentrate on creating an environment where comfort and exclusivity coexist’ - The art of exclusivity: Crafting unique luxury experiences in hospitality by Beau Monde Traveler.

An experience should allow a time of reflection and study. It should encompass the individual in a sense of peace and contentment, where the crudeness of life’s stresses melt away and the experience overrides all else. When a luxury brand achieves this, they become something else entirely to the customer, they become an escape. By slowing down the experience, luxury brands transcend beyond their tangible products and achieve a new level of elevation. 

Christian Dioriviera pop-up

“Dolce far niente” is an Italian phrase meaning the sweetness of doing nothing. Remembering that the opposite of busy is not lazy. The opposite of busy is solitude and stillness, which are essential for health, happiness and relationships. When brands provide this for their customers in experiences, they create memories. Memories automatically form bonds; ties and connections between the invisible and visible. Brands bonded to their customers are remembered, they are retained.

In a world that constantly demands speed and efficiency, the luxury of stillness and personal connection becomes a rare and cherished offering. Brands that master this art not only enhance their exclusivity but also foster lasting loyalty by turning moments of solitude and reflection into unforgettable memories. By embracing the "sweetness of doing nothing," luxury brands ensure their place in the hearts and minds of their customers.