This article first appeared on eMarketer.com.

Affluents spending more time, money than ever online

For many luxury consumers, the appeal of buying luxury goods goes beyond owning the actual item—it’s the experience surrounding the purchase of an expensive item. And what separates the luxury buying experience from the mass experience is the personal approach.

The exclusivity a brand offers a customer—whether it’s limited-edition merchandise, a first look at a product or personalized service—is a key element of the luxury experience, according to a new eMarketer report, “The Luxury Consumer: Shoppers Lead Brands to Digital Channels.” Translating that experience to the digital realm is one reason luxury marketers initially balked at the idea of creating virtual spaces for their goods. How could a brand duplicate the connection between a trusted sales associate and loyal clientele? How could a brand possibly communicate the attributes of a premium product without letting the client touch it, smell it or try it on?

So what’s changed? Why are luxury brands reconsidering their aversion to digital marketing? There are a few developments that are pushing them to increase online marketing efforts.

One major factor is an increase in the amount of time affluent consumers spend online. Ipsos MediaCT found that among US affluents with household income of more than $100,000 per year, the amount of time spent online grew nearly one-quarter from 2011 to 2013, at 32.8 hours per week to 41.6 hours per week, respectively.

“These aren’t the idle rich,” said Skip Brand, CEO of Martini Media, a digital agency specializing in luxury marketing. “These are people who use online resources to save time. And they will spend money to save time.”

Along with an increase in affluents’ time spent online is an increase in their spending online. Martini Media reported that among affluent shoppers, the average spending on luxury sites was up 20% year over year in Q2 2013.

In a Q1 2013 survey by American Express Publishing and Harrison Group, 48% of US affluents with income of more than $100,000 said they discovered new luxury products while shopping online, a rate almost equal to the 50% who said they discovered new products while shopping in-store. Even though consumers are still making more purchases in a physical store, they are discovering products, and therefore being exposed to more marketing messages, online.

That’s not to say buyers of luxury items no longer favor making in-store purchases (the same is true of buyers of mass items, it should be noted). In an April 2013 Luxury Institute study on the multichannel purchasing habits of US internet users with incomes of at least $150,000, 48% of respondents sourced information about luxury fashion online via a computer. Yet only about a quarter actually completed the purchase online. Meanwhile, 72% of affluents said they went to brick-and-mortar stores to get information on luxury fashion items, and 62% said they went to a store to complete a purchase.

Read more at http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Luxury-Brands-Follow-Shoppers-Digital/1010424#uPoZiySI6WEzwQU2.99