Compagnie Financière Richemont built a conglomerate offering the world’s wealthiest consumers the highest-quality product, often in the most luxurious of settings. Clients walking into a Cartier flagship or a Piaget boutique — both Richemont brands — could expect radiant smiles and soft furnishings, as well as impeccable service for as long as was necessary before they made their purchase.

Increasingly, though, well-heeled clients don’t want that type of service. Cash-rich, time-starved customers want their shopping to be quick, quiet and easy, done in a matter of seconds from their smartphone.

Richemont, which also owns upscale brands like IWC, Montblanc and Van Cleef & Arpels, knows that times are changing. The Swiss luxury group announced on Monday that it was doubling down on its investments in high-end internet retail, making an offer of 2.8 billion euros, or about $3.4 billion, for the online fashion retailer Yoox Net-a-Porter.

The surprise bid was a significant about-face in Richemont’s strategy and an acknowledgment that wealthy consumers are increasingly comfortable buying an expensive watch or pen with a click rather than a trip to an upscale store. The process of buying luxury goods, which traditionally took place over many hours in lavish shops or department stores, is rapidly transforming.