In times gone by the so called 'luxury' sector was only accessible by the few.

Of course the so called 'few' had deep pockets, and for many of us an enviable lifestyle that also seemed so out of touch with our version of normality - in summary it all looked wonderful, but for the masses totally unattainable.

In the 40's and early 50's the everyday items we buy today from our supermarkets was most definitely out of reach, and for folks back then many of those items was most certainly unheard of.

Then of course came the retailing supermarket revolution we have all got to know.

We now purchase goods from all over the world, and even produce that at one time would never appear on the shelves because they were deemed to be 'out of season'.

If you take a look at today's retailers and ponder the following enforced changes in behaviour we have to ask the question is retail really transforming or incrementally adapting?

In short, millennials and Gen Zers didn’t grow up with luxury and came to know this extravagant world only recently. Consequently, their perspective on luxury and their shopping behaviors are different from those of older luxury consumers.

Furthermore, first-time purchasers are much more likely to be susceptible to their social surroundings. Being younger consumers, they crave validation, and they need to make purchases that communicate social standing and individuality.

So if a brand/company wanted to reinvent itself it must first take a serious note of those changing behaviours and recognise that inertia is firmly in the hands of today's consumer.

Daily there are more brands/companies (your current suppliers) electing to go where they never went before which is to build a direct relationship with 'your' customer' and look to cut you out.

And the rocket fuel that's helping them get there is the prolific use of social media to help educate, inform, listen, learn, and most likely transact.

Social commerce doesn't require a consumer to be 'driven' to your website, it doesn't require a consumer to spend an age going through your funnel today, that was yesterday!!

The reality is you could be buying your next car from social platforms like 'TikTok', Instagram, Weibo, WeChat, Alibaba or others that are constantly evolving the commerce landscape.

Things such as automobiles, jewelry, real estate, perishable food items, pharmaceuticals, home furnishings, luxury items and home improvement products — these and other complex product categories represent the next frontier of online commerce, and companies like Alibaba, Amazon, JD.com and others will be aggressively working to unlock revenue in each.