Native Drop: Is phygital the future of consumer retail?
We release regular LinkedIn and Twitter content that breaks down Web3 concepts and brand case studies. Here are some of the highlights from the last fortnight.
Welcome to the new subscribers who have joined us since the last newsletter! We release regular LinkedIn and Twitter posts that break down Web3 concepts and brand case studies that are likely to drive mainstream adoption. Here are some of the highlights from the last fortnight that you may have missed:
Is phygital the future of consumer retail?
Phygital experiences, which combine physical spaces and products with digital elements like AR and Web3, are being used by consumer brands like Bugatti, Dior and L'Oréal to attract younger consumers and create personalised, immersive experiences.
Bugatti x Asprey
Bugatti and Asprey have launched 12 decorative carbon-fiber eggs inspired by Bugatti models, ahead of Asprey’s gallery launch in London this month.
The eggs will be priced from $20k to $200k+ and each egg will be accompanied by a corresponding Bitcoin-NFT, enabling owners to have a digital representation of their physical collectible.
NFT-backed digital twins allow brands to export value from physical goods and enable customers to utilise it across virtual spaces.
Salesforce reports Gen Z is four times more likely to buy a physical product if paired with a digital twin.
Dior x Snapchat
Dior collaborated with Snapchat to offer customers a virtual try-on filter for its B27 sneaker range, allowing customers to purchase the product instantly from Dior’s website. The luxury brand sold six models of the men's sneakers, priced at $990 to $1,100, through its Snapchat profile and website.
The move aimed to attract Gen Z consumers to buy luxury goods, by tapping into Snapchat’s user base of 375 million daily active users, at the time.
The partnership yielded fruitful results, with Dior garnering 2.3 million views of the digital sneakers and a sixfold return on advertising investment, according to Snapchat.
The use of AR to create interactivity and memorable experiences creates an intention to purchase among younger consumers, according to MIT Technology Review.
L'Oréal x Urban Decay Cosmetics
L’Oreal brand, Urban Decay launched an AR game for its Naked x Robin Eisenberg Eyeshadow Palette late last year, accessible at point of sale via a QR code on the physical product packaging.
As customers engaged with the AR game and collected rewards, they could download a custom-generated illustration from artist Robin Eisenberg, to share on social media.
Augmented reality is a powerful bridge to the digital world for consumers, and with the e-commerce landscape now more competitive than ever, it can help brands involve consumers in a narrative that wasn’t previously possible and strengthen their engagement with the brand, through gamification.
Read the full post here.
Mastercard CEO, Michael Miebach recently said “We’re going to have a world where everything will be tokenised and will be passed around in a safe fashion.”
We’re starting to see brands like Starbucks scratch the surface of this concept, by putting their loyalty programs, rewards and experiences on the blockchain.
But what are some of the real challenges that blockchain-based loyalty programs can solve?
Crafting a next-generation Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can help brands thrive in a world without third-party cookies:
With big tech platforms, like Apple and Google, limiting the use of third-party cookies, crypto wallets offer a potential solution. Like a cookie, a wallet is a unique, anonymous identifier.
It can act as a conduit for brands to speak directly to customers, as well as distribute content, ads and rewards.
Brands can integrate Web3 data into existing CRMs to create a seamless omni-channel experiences.
Open trading opportunities can lower customer acquisition costs:
Customer acquisition costs have been on an upward trajectory, rising 60% in the last 5 years, as media costs and competition for consumer attention increases.
Blockchain-based loyalty rewards can be traded, which can attract new customers to the brand with minimal marketing costs, and this process is made easier with open trading opportunities that enable direct, peer-to-peer transactions, without intermediaries.
Open loyalty can enable easier cross-partner collaboration:
To reach broader customer bases and compete with larger players, brands tap into partnerships.
But multi-partner ecosystems are complex to establish and scale due to data sharing limitations and regulatory compliance issues.
What tokenisation and open loyalty can offer, is the ability to manage these intricate details and create more targeted offerings for holders of loyalty tokens.
Read the full post here.
Tommy Hilfiger has launched a first-of-its-kind metaverse experience. Here’s why it matters.
The fine print:
Tommy Hilfiger premiered their multi-metaverse hub at #metaversefashionweek a few weeks ago.
Through this experience, they brought together key metaverse destinations, including Decentraland, Roblox, Spatial, DRESSX and Ready Player Me.
Users could collect NFTs and digital fashion, while experiencing AR virtual try-on offerings. They could also explore the various metaverse destinations, all while wearing a digital Tommy Hilfiger jacket.
Why does this matter?
To date, digital fashion has faced limitations due to the difficulty in connecting virtual worlds, known as metaverse interoperability.
Tommy Hilfiger's new virtual hub offers a potential solution, by connecting multiple virtual platforms, allowing users to move freely between them and take their digital assets with them.
This test case will allow Tommy Hilfiger to find out how users respond when they can access the same brand across different platforms.
By creating an interoperable approach, Tommy Hilfiger will be able to bridge this gap and bring multi-world experiences into their Web3 and ecommerce strategy — while keeping their existing mainstream user base involved.
Why are fashion brands even entering the metaverse?
Experimenting with net new business offerings: Through the metaverse, companies can test novel products with minimal expenses and get instantaneous feedback from their target audiences.
Reaching younger consumers: Today, 15% of Gen Z’s “fun budget” is spent in the metaverse. By 2027, this is expected to hit 20% (Razorfish, 2022). Fashion brands need to be where these generations are increasingly investing their time and money.
Read the full post here.
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