Dive Brief:
- Lacoste announced another virtual store powered by Emperia featuring its summer collection on Wednesday, according to details sent to Retail Dive. The store is accessible on the brand’s website.
- Shoppers can view the fashion retailer’s seasonal offerings of clothes, shoes and accessories. A special room in the virtual store showcases another collection exclusive to Le Club Lacoste and members of UNDW3, Lacoste’s Web3 community.
- Each physical item from the exclusive collection also offers its digital twin in the virtual shopping experience. Upon scanning a QR code, shoppers can view garments from the exclusive collection through augmented reality tech.
Dive Insight:
This isn’t the first time the brand is collaborating with Emperia or entering the metaverse space. Last year, Lacoste debuted a virtual store that similarly offered exclusive content for UNDW3 members. Those with a Lacoste NFT had access to a private room in the virtual store with daily prizes.
Now, Lacoste is doing it again — this time with an emphasis on the summer season. Upon entering the virtual store, an elevator takes shoppers to product offerings in a pool-deck setting overlooking a beach. Throughout the experience is a crocodile scavenger hunt, inspired by the brand logo, leading to an underwater private shopping space.
“From using the iconic crocodile shape as a general store aesthetic to carrying various design elements into the virtual store and adding exclusive features, accessible only to loyal shoppers, we continue to push the envelope together, producing virtual shopping experiences that go beyond the look and feel and make digital shopping into an integral part of the brand’s e-commerce strategy,” Emperia co-founder and CEO Olga Dogadkina said in a statement.
Lacoste’s exclusive room for UNDW3 members aims to “create a deep sense of community and shopper loyalty appreciation by offering a unique retail experience that extends beyond its physical stores,” according to the release.
Community members are eligible for weekly prizes and users can access Le Club Lacoste and UNDW3 with an e-mail login or a Lacoste NFT.
Metaverse shopping experiences combined with NFT offerings is a newer move coming from brands entering the space. This month, Puma expanded its existing virtual space, launching Black Station 2, for the brand’s 75th anniversary. Alongside the expansion, shoppers also had the opportunity to buy a Materializer NFT as a Puma Pass holder. The NFT represents a physical shoe to be produced.
