Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
The luxury e-commerce sector has endured a reckoning over the last few years. Once defined by aggressive expansion and a “growth at all costs” mindset following the pandemic e-commerce boom, it has faced headwinds of slowing luxury spend, waning brand loyalty and strong competition for market share.
The wider sector continues to face significant challenges. For one, the luxury segment is projected to see only low single-digit growth this year — +1-3 percent in Europe and +2-4 percent in the US and China — according to The State of Fashion 2026 report by The Business of Fashion (BoF) and McKinsey & Company.
Farfetch, once an industry pioneer in the online multi-brand retail category, narrowly avoided bankruptcy in 2023 after the wider luxury e-commerce sector faced a post-Covid-19 downturn in sales. However, as other major players continue to face critical challenges, Farfetch is regaining momentum. The company is emerging from a period of stabilisation following its acquisition by tech company Coupang in January 2024.
In a February 2026 earnings call, Coupang’s founder and chief executive officer Bom Kim said the last quarter of 2025 marked the first since Farfetch’s acquisition where the company “generated positive year-over-year revenue growth with positive overall economics.”
The company remains one of the world’s largest luxury platforms, connecting over 1,400 brands and boutiques with millions of monthly visitors across more than 190 countries. This forms the foundation for the launch of Farfetch First, a comprehensive service designed to offer the “next level of customer experience from discovery to delivery.”
“We see a real opportunity to create value for luxury customers around the world by combining Farfetch’s vast assortment with a white-glove shipping and returns experience,” shared Kim on the earnings call.
The service aims to offer a seamless and convenient experience by introducing a free upgrade to next-day delivery on thousands of luxury items.
Available across Europe — including in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland — with plans to expand further, Farfetch First will empower Farfetch partners to reach a community of luxury customers.
Italian luxury fashion brand Valentino is already on board. A spokesperson told BoF that the brand has always “placed great importance on delivering an exceptional level of care and service to its clients.” They went on to add that they see supporting Farfetch First as part of a shared commitment to “enhancing the digital luxury experience through seamless service and an elevated customer journey.”
In Germany, Anouschka, a former banker and one of Farfetch’s very important clients (VICs), has already used the service to order a dress in the evening and have it delivered in time to wear to a dinner the following day. “For me, this is what a luxury service should be,” she told BoF.
Now, BoF sits down with Stephen Eggleston, Farfetch’s chief commercial officer, to discuss the company’s vision for Farfetch First and how this evolved service will drive the luxury e-commerce experience forward.
What do you see as the most urgent challenge facing the market today?
There is no doubt that it is not an easy market at the moment. There is a constantly changing customer demand profile, which shifts at a regional level due to geopolitics, as well as evolving brand style and even value preferences across different customer segments.
I was in Paris recently with the CEO of a top luxury group who said that there is plenty of demand out there, we just don’t know exactly where it will be from one day to the next. While demand remains high, it has become unpredictable.
The key is remaining relevant and exciting to customers who have higher expectations than ever — and who demand more from the overall proposition. Customers expect access to prestige products through faultless service spanning delivery and packaging to returns — and a strong emotional connection with the purchasing destination. Farfetch First is responding to those expectations.
What does your data show about what luxury online shoppers prioritise today?
What we hear from customers is that the most important motivator is always choice — not just a heavily edited selection of “safe” pieces. They enjoy the serendipity of discovery — finding the unique pieces nobody else is wearing or being the first to uncover a new brand before it gains popularity.
The next most important thing to our customers is delivery experience. Customers want to feel that same sense of immediacy, impulsiveness and gratification as walking out of a brand’s flagship store with their new purchase.
Customers want to feel that same sense of immediacy, impulsiveness and gratification as walking out of a brand’s flagship store.
The modern shopper has become accustomed to immediacy when shopping for almost everything else in life, and we believe that same emotional hook is as strong, if not stronger, when it comes to luxury.
Farfetch First harnesses the tech, innovation and operational excellence needed to really address those challenges. We are invested in offering the very best selection of products to the global luxury customer wherever they may be, and that is why Farfetch First — with its free upgrade to next-day delivery — aims to become the new service benchmark.
How has this directed the strategic focus for Farfetch in 2026?
Following our 2025 results, we are now well-positioned to embrace a new chapter, investing in a differentiated experience — one that puts us on a renewed trajectory.
The foundations of this new era is Farfetch’s core strengths. We have an extensive assortment from many prestigious brands and multibrand boutiques. We have millions of engaged global customers who constitute one of the largest online luxury audiences, alongside a powerful and highly discerning luxury private client community who work with personal stylists — and value discretion, trust and service.
We believe there is real opportunity to elevate and differentiate our customer experience by layering exceptional services on top of these foundations. These aims will serve to drive more repeat purchases from the top luxury customers and ensure Farfetch is an even more desirable destination for brands to partner with.
The critical component is that we continue to execute against both the foundational elements and the new services — with even higher operational standards.
How does this new service sustain partner relationships and attract new ones?
Farfetch First is proving to be a strong lever to deepen relationships with existing brand partners, while attracting and opening doors with brands that have yet to join our ecosystem.
Luxury brands want to work with partners who obsess over the customer experience, who focus on elevating the proposition, and ultimately, who attract the highest quality audiences. Farfetch First empowers these brands with the service levels required to meet the increasing expectations of the global luxury customer.
The most important [shopping] motivator is always choice — not just a heavily edited selection of ‘safe’ pieces.
Amidst industry headwinds, we hear from brand executives that our commitment to prioritise the customer experience is a vital point of differentiation.
How can Farfetch ensure fast delivery when stock is held by thousands of different global partners?
Delivering this service will mean evolving the way stock is managed. Our strong relationships with our brand partners serves as a bridge between brand and customer.
Our new delivery service means brands can manage their inventory and expedite delivery to customers through our network of warehouses around the world.
How is technology helping shape Farfetch’s future growth and customer experience?
Technology and innovation, both increasingly underpinned by AI, are at the heart of everything we do — from the way we manage our catalogue of products, to how we surface the most relevant pieces for each individual customer, and how we target the highest-potential LTV clients with the right content.
All share the objective of serving our customers more effectively and operating our business more efficiently.
We are doubling down on selection and discovery by expanding existing partnerships and launching new ones. At the same time, we are focused on achieving new service levels that differentiate the Farfetch experience. For us, the future is about situating the business at the intersection of the most desirable selection and seamless, elevated service.
This is a sponsored feature paid for by Farfetch as part of a BoF partnership.
