META-RETAIL: Benetton’s upcoming storefront is in the metaverse.
The Italian company is taking part in Milan Fashion Week, kicking off Tuesday, to unveil its digital retail project, which will officially debut in the next few weeks.
The brand’s Milan flagship on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II will be transformed into a mixed-media experience, teasing the look and feel of the store in the metaverse. The shop has been covered in pink paint — a nod to the brand’s colorful aesthetics and to the immersive experience the digital shop is expected to offer. The new store set-up will remain for four weeks.
“We wanted to take the immersive experience upside down, reproducing in physical retail the same emotional ecosystem that the virtual store in the metaverse will have,” said Massimo Renon, chief executive officer of Benetton Group. “Anyone stepping into our Milan store in the next few weeks will take a deep dive into a mix of physical reality and digital connection, against a backdrop of creativity, colors and sounds,” he added.
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Antonio Patrissi, Benetton Group’s chief digital officer, touted the company’s omnichannel approach in expanding into the metaverse. Digital customers will be offered gaming opportunities, each coming with a store credit reward in the form of a QR-code, which they can use for their physical purchases in Benetton’s retail network.
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“Our goal is to create a bridge between present and future, real and virtual, through an immersive brand experience, that is closer to the language of younger generations,” Patrissi offered.
Benetton tapped five Italian personalities and TikTokers for a dedicated activation called Play Change, for which the talents will share their personal stories of change and reinvention.
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