United Colors of Benetton is making its first foray into the metaverse.
The fashion brand is transforming its physical store on Corso Vittorio Emanuele in Milan to align with its upcoming virtual store in the metaverse.
The store in the metaverse is expected to open in a few weeks. Visitors will not buy clothes but instead participate in gaming experiences, allowing them to accumulate QR codes, which can then be used to make purchases in Benetton’s physical shops.
This creates “an additional touchpoint with the consumer, enhancing its omnichannel strategy,” according to the brand.
The virtual store will have the same look and feel as Benetton’s Milan flagship, which has been been given a new look that is completely pink, top to bottom.
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“We want to turn the immersive experience on its head,” said Benetton Group chief executive officer Massimo Renon.
“We will achieve this by creating the same emotional ecosystem in physical retail as will be available in the new virtual store in the metaverse, which will open in the next few weeks. Anyone visiting our Milan shop in Corso Vittorio Emanuele over the next few days will be able to immerse themselves in a world where physical reality and digital connection come together in an explosion of creativity, colour and sound.”
Benetton Group chief digital officer Antonio Patrissi added: “We are one of the first brands to experiment with a distributed omnichannel model, one that creates a circular relationship be-tween the physical world and the metaverse.”
“The aim is to offer a dimensional link between the present and the future, the real and the virtual, through a brand experience that is increasingly immersive and, above all, in tune with the language of young people.”
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