Mass market retailers aren’t the only ones betting on a banner online holiday sales season.
Christie’s auction house has launched its worldwide “Luxury Week” with beefed-up offerings to meet this year’s record demand. (“Week” is a loose designation this year, given that some of the sales have already started, and many will last through mid-December.)
“This year we’ve seen a 200% increase in the number of [online] sales” for November and December, says Caroline Ervin, a head of e-commerce for Christie’s jewellery department.
Last year, Christie’s hosted just four online-only luxury sales in the same November-December stretch. Those sales carried a high estimate of about $9.5 million. This year, there will be 12, with a total high estimate of just under $40 million, a 322% increase. “It’s just a response to the market,” Ervin says.
Sotheby’s, which is hosting its own live, online December luxury sales under the heading “The Festival…
