Alibaba Group is multiplyingwith a series of innovations and digital events this month, the ways luxury brands can connect with China’s high net worth shoppers in the metaverse. Specifically, in recent years, Alibaba’s luxury shopping platform, Tmall Luxury Pavilion, has deployed 3D shopping, conducted augmented reality and virtual reality testing of products, as well as generated digital avatars and collectibles.
This month, Tmall Luxury Pavilion has organized a fashion show using augmented reality (AR) technologies and introduced a Meta Pass that grants priority digital access to products from brands from Burberry to Bogner.
The event, which celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Tmall Luxury Pavilion, took place in Shanghai and allowed executives from the luxury sector (Richemont, Kering, LVMH, OTB…) to attend an award ceremony and enjoy an exhibition on the extended reality and thus visualize the future of retail. The temporary exhibition was created by DAMO Academy’s XR Lab and Tmall Luxury Pavilion and allowed you to immerse yourself in a model of a luxury boutique of the future.
Adoption of metaverse technologies
Executives from the luxury sector tried on augmented reality goggles and digitally handled luxury product bags and gift boxes. They were also able to play with brand mascots, for example holding a tiny Burberry deer in the palm of their hand. When they clicked on a product, a window with the product listing details appeared before them. Virtual content was overlaid on the walls of the room in an industrial hall renovated for this event in Shanghai. This event previewed what will be an immersive browsing and interaction experience while shopping, including 3D visualization of products and multidimensional gamification.
Chinese consumers and ecommerce platforms have long embraced metaverse technologies. In this regard, more than 20 luxury brands have launched digital art collectibles through the Tmall Luxury Pavilion and organized virtual fashion shows, in which consumers send their avatars to the metaverse to dress up in luxury products in the game. 3D Taobao Life avatars.
The number of consumers who made purchases at Tmall Luxury Pavilion last year was 153% higher than in 2019, and the total transaction volume increased by 309% in the same period. More than 50 million consumers participated in special activations from September 2021 to this month.
