The number of Internet searches in Brazil for luxury automotive brands rose 68 percent in 2012 with Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Range Rover in the lead, according to a new report from Digital Luxury Group.
The World Luxury Index Brazil found that interest in luxury brands among digitally connected consumers increased 24 percent last year. Since 80 percent of luxury goods are purchased by Brazilian consumers abroad, there is room for marketers to grab consumers' attention, especially on the digital medium.
“Demand for luxury in Brazil is booming and brands should bet on it and its increasingly affluent clientele base, after China,” said Florent Bondoux, head of strategy and intelligence at Digital Luxury Group, Geneva, Switzerland.
“They are travelers, thus influenced by global trends, but have their own sense of a more casual luxury, as expressed in preference in the apparel sector,” he said.
“They massively turn to online channels to get informed about luxury brands and its overall lifestyle, thus fostering the expansion of digital communication, and progressively sales, in the region.”
The World Luxury Index Brazil is based on more than 20 million unbiased searches on Google, the top search engine in Brazil that accounts for more than 90 percent of the market share, from January to June 2012. It included more than 300 brands across the automotive, fashion, beauty, travel, watches and jewelry categories.
The report was published in partnership with Luxury Society.
Driving awareness
Luxury automakers seemed to outshine brands in other categories in their Internet popularity last year.
Automotive brands accounted for 49 percent of total luxury brand searches in Brazil during the study’s time frame, leaving beauty at 18 percent, fashion at 13 percent and hospitality at 11 percent.
Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Range Rover, Ferrari and Porsche were among the top 10 most-searched for luxury automakers in the report.
Lamborghini and Bugatti made the top 25 list while Cadillac, Jaguar, Lexus, Lotus, Pagani, McLaren and Aston Martin rounded out the top 50.
Narrowing it down to the automotive category, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Range Rover, Ferrari, Porsche, Volvo, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Cadillac were the top 10 most-searched for brands studied.
Digital Luxury Group uncovered that sporty models are quite popular among Brazilian consumers.
Eighteen of the 50 most-searched for car models were sports cars. The top models were the Buggati Veyron and Lamborghini Aventador.
Also, 17 of the top 50 most-searched for models were SUVs including Land Rover’s Range Rover at No. 2.
In fact, there was a 3,343 percent increase in searches for Range Rover in 2012 among consumers in Brazil.
Range Rover
If luxury automakers want to improve their standing among Brazilian consumers, they should develop effective Facebook campaigns to target them.
“A localized presence on Facebook – for which Brazil is the No. 2 biggest market with 64 million users among the most active ones on the planet – is undoubtedly a channel of strategic importance when it comes to reaching out to Brazilian aspirational consumers online,” Mr. Bondoux said.
Fashion forward
Among fashion and beauty marketers, Chanel came out on top at No. 8 on the list of the most-searched for luxury brands across all categories.
Chanel is also the third most-searched for fashion brand behind Lacoste and Calvin Klein, but made up for lost searches by being No. 2 in the beauty category.
Chanel's Web site
Giorgio Armani followed as the No. 3 most-searched for beauty brand, the No. 5 most-searched for fashion brand and the No. 10 most-searched for brand across all categories.
Other marketers that made the top 10 most-searched for fashion brands list included Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Prada, Céline and Gucci.
However, fashion marketers should note that Brazilian consumer interest for beauty brands rose 49 percent in 2012, per Digital Luxury Group.
Fragrance and makeup make up more than 90 percent of consumer interest in the beauty category.
The top most-searched for fragrances brands in Brazil are Armani, Chanel and Christian Dior.
“There is a true frenzy toward beauty products, especially for perfumes and makeup,” Mr. Bondoux said.
“Interestingly, skincare is not a key concern, in opposition to what we can observe in China for instance, where share of skincare represents a significant portion of demand for beauty,” he said.
Final Take
Tricia Carr, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York