China's luxury goods websites have undergone explosive growth in recent years due to the great potential size of the Chinese market. The websites have expanded their product offerings to things like luxury cars and private aircraft, which would have been inconceivable a few years ago. But consumers continue to complain about product quality - a life and death issue for luxury goods vendors.
由于中国巨大的市场潜力,中国奢侈品网站近年来经历了爆炸性增长。这些网站已将其产品范围扩展到豪华轿车和私人飞机,而这些事在几年前是难以想象的。但消费者对产品质量的抱怨将成为关乎奢侈品供应商生死的问题。
China's luxury e-commerce provider secoo.com (Secoo) got a lot of attention for a promotional event it held with high-end sports carmaker Lamborghini on May 16, in which it put luxury cars up for sale on its website.
中国的奢侈品电子商务供应商寺库网最近得到了大量的关注,他们在5月16日举行了一项促销活动,同高端跑车制造商兰博基尼合作,把豪华汽车放在其网站上销售。
This activity is just one example of China's booming e-commerce market for luxury goods. Until a few years ago, consumers in China had been reluctant to buy luxury goods online. But now, the idea of buying a plane over the Internet no longer seems so unusual.
这项活动只是中国蓬勃发展的奢侈品电子商务市场的一个例子。几年前,中国消费者还不愿意在线购买奢侈品。但现在,在网上购买一架飞机的想法似乎不再那么不寻常了。
And buying luxury goods online has grown in popularity. "More and more consumers will choose to shop online for luxury goods due to its convenience and lower prices," said Chen Wei, a senior consultant at Beijing-based ChinaVenture.
网上购买奢侈品已经变得流行起来。总部位于北京的“投资中国网”的高级顾问陈炜表示:“越来越多的消费者会由于其便利性和较低的价格,而选择网上购买奢侈品。”
"I have bought luxury goods on Secoo and other luxury goods websites several times," a Shanghai-based consumer surnamed Wang told the Global Times last Wednesday. "But I have only bought stuff that isn't that expensive. For really expensive things, I still like to go to brand stores because I'm afraid of buying knockoffs."
“我曾在寺库网和其他奢侈品网站买过几次奢侈品,”上海的消费者王女士周三接受《环球时报》采访时说道。“但我只买一些不贵的东西。价格较高的东西我还是喜欢去品牌店买,因为我怕买到假货。”
Wang has good reason to be concerned.
王女士的担忧是有理由的。
First, it is a universal phenomenon that only a few of China's luxury e-commerce sites have been authorized by big luxury brands.
首先,只有少数的中国的奢侈品电子商务网站拥有奢侈品大牌的授权,这是一个普遍的现象。
After-sales service is another troublesome quality issue. When a customer isn't happy with an item bought from a brand store, he can always take it back for a refund or exchange. "But that isn't very easy when it happens online," Chen said, noting that returning a product online can take a lot of time and energy.
此外,售后服务也是另一个关于质量的麻烦问题。当顾客在品牌商店购物时,如果他对所购物品不满意,他可以随时退换货。“但是网上购物却不容易做到这点,”陈炜指出,在线退货需要耗费大量的时间和精力。
Li, Secoo's CEO, offered a solution to the problem.
寺库网CEO李先生对此提供了一个解决办法。
"We have built offline experience stores in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai where consumers can touch products before buying them online and get help with products they have already bought online," he said.
他说:“我们在上海、北京等主要城市建立了线下体验店,消费者可以在网上购买产品之前,去店里体验商品,而在网上购买产品后也可以获得一些帮助。”
This kind of one-stop service model can help solve the after-sales service problem and bring in consumers, Chen said. "But this model is still rare in China's luxury e-commerce industry," he noted.
陈炜表示,这种一站式的服务模式可以帮助解决售后服务问题,并带来更多消费者,“但这种模式在中国的奢侈品电子商务行业仍然是少见的。”