Lacoste virtual store offers an immersive and interactive journey to achieve what the brand claims is ‘reinventing e-commerce.’

In this first virtual store for the brand, Lacoste aims at ‘putting creativity at the service of the customer experience while reinforcing the sense of community among shoppers’ 

Lacoste virtual store was created by Emperia, a platform that offers tools that brands can use to create virtual experiences. 

It is accessible to users via computer and mobile devices. Thus, shoppers will have the ability to explore the clothing collection in this space before making a purchase. On the other hand, the Lacoste virtual store in the metaverse gives customers direct access to the online store.

Lacoste virtual store mixes rewards, shopping, and games 

Users who want to explore the Lacoste universe in this virtual space will have to go through the mouth of its iconic crocodile. After this, they will reach the brand's showroom, where a selection of products from the Holiday collection is presented, which can be viewed in 360º.

The next room allows interaction with the collection through gamification, a trendy way of inviting consumers to discover more products uniquely. 

And the last room will be open exclusively to members of the UNDW3 community who have the Lacoste NFT (UNDW3 Genesis Pass). In addition, reward boxes will be placed in this room, such as an advent calendar, with five users selected each day to win an exclusive prize.

Overall, the store bets on mixing entertainment and gamification concepts into virtual e-commerce. 

Shopping in the Metaverse

Lacoste is not the only luxury fashion brand investing in Web3. From October 27 to November 9, Gucci presented its Gucci Vault Land at The Sandbox. This experience lasted two weeks and was based on contests, games, NFT, and more.  

Adidas also recently entered the metaverse with its first collection of NFT wearables, and Walmart created a complete metaverse experience with Walmart land. 

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Meta bought Luxexcel, a Dutch brand that specializes in the development and manufacture of prescription glasses with 3D capabilities. 

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Luxexcel produces and manufactures prescription glasses and prints them in 3D to integrate them into smart glasses. 

The company, founded in 2009, claims it can integrate the necessary elements to create an augmented reality experience inside a graduated lens as if it were a holographic film and projectors. 

In 2021, Luxexcel made a strategic alliance with WaveOptics, the company responsible for providing the displays to Snap's Spectacles, to create a lens that would be equipped with waveguides, as well as transparent display technology needed to be able to superimpose virtual objects over the wearer's real-world environment.

A statement from Meta, provided by the head of financial operations, Ryan Moore, stated, "We are excited to have Luxexcel join Meta, thereby deepening the partnership between the two companies." As we said, the terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

However, the CTO of Reality Labs' Andrew Bosworth, said in a December blog post that the company is investing about half of the Metaverse-focused division's operating expenses to develop augmented reality. The other half is used to build virtual reality products. 

Meta aims at the smart glasses industry 

Thanks to the purchase of Luxexcel, Meta will benefit from the technology built by the company to manufacture glasses. 

But despite the efforts, some sources point out that Meta has postponed the launch of augmented reality glasses for the consumer market, which it had planned for 2024. The first version of the augmented reality glasses will likely be for developers only. 

What is clear is that Meta is not stopping and continues with its strategy of buying small companies specialized in the development of innovative virtual and augmented reality technology with which to build its vision of the metaverse.

A clear example is the virtual and augmented reality helmet Quest, which was created from the purchase of Oculus in 2014. Similarly, in September 2021, Meta, in alliance with the Italian brand Ray-Ban, launched Ray-Ban Stories, smart glasses with which you can record, take pictures and make calls, all controlled by side buttons or voice commands. 

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Walmart has joined the trend of the Metaverse launching Walmart Land and Universe of Play. This Metaverse space is an immersive 3D environment developed by Roblox in alliance with Walmart. And will be available for U.S. customers - free of charge - starting next Monday.

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Following CNBC coverage of this news, users will be able to enjoy multiple games finetuned for immersive virtual 3D experiences like a zeppelin that throws toys, entertainment events like virtual concerts, and music festivals with popular artists, alongside a plethora of online multiplayer games. 

Obviously, the endgame and final goal of this Walmart Land multiverse virtual venue is to also be a virtual shopping mall, for very real shopping. Meaning, people inside the virtual environment will be able to actually purchase a selection of Walmart goods. 

Walmart joins the trend 

In this way, Walmart follows in the footsteps of other companies such as Nike, which have bet on virtual worlds in order to capture the attention of younger consumers, while exploring the opportunities offered by new technologies. In fact, Roblox has a community of more than 52 million daily users, many of them young people, a particularly valuable target for companies.

Walmart's chief marketing officer, William White, has indicated that these two new experiences have been designed with the next generation of shoppers - Generation Z - in mind: "How will we drive relevance in the cultural conversation? How will we build community and engagement? That's what we're trying to achieve here."

One platform, two distinct experiences

Each of the experiences is focused on offering different things to users. First, Walmart Land will feature a music festival-inspired environment, with a virtual store where Roblox users can trade badges and coins earned on the platform to purchase accessories for their avatars. 

In addition, there will be a wheel of fortune, presenting a panoramic view of the virtual world, as well as tokens and badges that can be unlocked by winning in games and competitions.

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Meta opens its first permanent, and ironically, brick-and-mortar Meta Store for customers to purchase its virtual reality products as a "gateway to the metaverse".

The 1,550-square-foot shop will open on 9 May in Burlingame, California, near the company's Reality Labs campus – a research and development hub for virtual reality products.

In the shop customers will be able to try out and play games on Oculus Quest 2, an updated version of the virtual reality headset Oculus Go, in a dedicated demo area. It is this same device, the Oculus Quest 2, the one Meta wants to turn into the standard device for accessing the Metaverse. 

A portal on the floor 

Meta's video-calling device Portal will be displayed on backlit wooden shelves on the main shop floor. Customers will be able to try out Portal in another demo area, as well as place video calls to retail associates to see the gadget in action.

Portal is meant to be Meta's primary calling device - aiming at even substituting current smartphones - in the future. 

Does the Meta store make sense? 

A separate cubicle with glass walls is reserved for Meta's selection of Ray-Ban Stories, smart glasses that allow wearers to record videos via in-built 5MP cameras. Visitors will be able to try a range of styles, colors, and lens variations.

Unlike the other products in Meta Store, the glasses will not be available to purchase in-store. Customers will have to order them directly from sunglass retailer Ray Ban's website.

All in all, it is ironic that Meta will be opening a physical store to kickstart the ultimate digital experience - instead of, perhaps, using an e-commerce based solution - and also that they will be showcasing products from third-party sellers - like Rayban - inside a Metaverse theme store, and yet, you can’t buy them in the same place - or via the Meta store in any way - but instead you have to go to the third party seller own store or e-commerce to buy them. Something that defeats the whole purpose of the Metaverse concept. 

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