Benetton Group opens metaverse store during Milan Fashion Week

The United Colors of Benetton store in the metaverse will, however, take a fresh approach. ‘Visitors’ will not buy clothes but will instead participate in gaming experiences that will allow them to accumulate QR codes, which can then be used to make purchases in physical shops. In this manner, the brand creates an additional touchpoint with the consumer, enhancing its omnichannel strategy, the company said in a media release.

“We want to turn the immersive experience on its head,” stated Massimo Renon, CEO of Benetton Group. “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.”

“We are one of the first brands to experiment with a distributed omnichannel model, one that creates a circular relationship between the physical world and the metaverse,” explained Antonio Patrissi, chief digital officer of Benetton Group. “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.”

The virtual store offers an experience mirroring what shoppers can expect when they visit the Corso Vittorio Emanuele location in the coming weeks. To mark Fashion Week, the Milan flagship store has been redecorated in pink, covering all areas – from the windows to the store interior itself, from hangers to shelves – and naturally emphasising the shades of the Benetton garments.

This temporary set-up will feature in the store for four weeks.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)