Gucci Is Selling $12 (Virtual) Sneakers
In collaboration with fashion-tech company Wanna, the Italian house is debuting a digital sneaker, available to purchase for $11.99 on its app or $8.99 on Wanna’s app.
Designed by creative director Alessandro Michele, the sneaker is also the first original digital product from Belarus-based Wanna, which specialises in using augmented reality (AR) to create 3D models for digital fittings of sneakers and watches. So far, the app’s technology has been used by Reebok, Farfetch, Puma and Snapchat to test out how consumers engage with virtual try-ons, and perhaps more importantly, taking photos of themselves with new products using augmented reality.
The brand previously worked with Wanna to digitalise its sneaker catalogue for AR try-ons as well as integrating the capabilities within the brand’s own Gucci app.
The frenzy around digital-only products has grown in recent weeks, in part due to the large sales of digital assets in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the rise in online gaming and the continued pandemic e-commerce boom.
Wanna co-founder and CEO Sergey Arkhangelskiy is confident in the digital fashion market and the company is looking to expand beyond shoes and watches to clothing. He also predicts AR technology like Wanna’s will be further integrated into brands and retailers’ online shops.
“In five or maybe 10 years a relatively big chunk of fashion brands revenue will come from digital products,” he said. “Our goal as a company is to actually supersede the product photos … and substitute it for something which is way more engaging and closer to offline shopping.”
Gucci has rapidly expanded its presence in the world of virtual clothing, collaborating with gaming platform Roblox, fashion styling game Drest, 3D social media app Zepeto, Sims 4 and Pokemon to create products and branded avatar items. Though purchased through the Gucci app, the sneakers can be “worn” in other virtual worlds on Roblox and virtual reality chat.
The virtual sneakers are largely targeted towards a digitally-native Gen Z audience, consumers that hold interest in the sneaker market but may not be able to afford physical Gucci products. Instead, they can spend $9 or $11 on the shoes for gaming and social media posts. And while NFT products rely on a one-of-one, minted asset, the virtual Gucci sneakers are unlimited and interchangeable for consumers.
Unlike the physical sneaker market, however, the secondary market for digital products is still nascent: resale or gifted products aren’t currently possible through Apple, meaning those that buy Gucci’s digital shoes won’t be able to flip them later on StockX. Resale in particular is an important area; the market for sneakers is a key part of the industry and an opportunity for further revenue and engagement among consumers. Arkhangelskiy said Wanna is working to develop trading capabilities, as well as limited-edition digital products that are in some ways similar to the NFT approach.
However, he acknowledges that the digital product space still has much room to grow. He’s cautious of the NFT market, citing the hurdles in setting up bitcoin wallets and purchasing on blockchain for consumers.
“It’s not very user friendly,” he said. As for the development of digital products, “we’re on the very early stages of this.”
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Gucci’s New Sneakers Cost Only $12 USD but Are Only Available Virtually
The Italian luxury fashion house is officially announcing its debut AR sneakers made available for purchase for just $11.99 USD virtually.
Gucci has collaborated with Belarus-based fashion-tech company Wanna, which specializes in the use of augmented reality to create three-dimensional models that can be used for digital sneakers and watches fittings. Wanna is no stranger to the fashion and tech world having worked with brands such as Reebok, Puma and Snapchat to test out how consumers respond to trying on items of clothing virtually. Gucci has also previously worked with Wanna to digitalize its AR-sneaker “try-ons” in its own app.
Gucci has shown great success adapting to the virtual clothing world, previously partnering with gaming platform Roblox, online fashion styling games such as Drest, Sims 4 and even Pokémon. With its virtual shoe, Gucci plans to target the tech-savvy Gen Z who may not be able to afford physical Gucci products.
The digital Gucci shoe, which goes for either $8.99 USD on Wanna’s app or $11.99 USD on Gucci’s app, is able to reach a broader audience range. Different from NFTs, there will be an unlimited quantity of shoes that are interchangeable between consumers.
In recent weeks, non-fungible tokens (NFT) have made headlines, drawing large sales on the digi-sphere. Wanna CEO, Sergey Arkhangelskiy predicts AR technology will only continue to grow stating, “In five or maybe 10 years a relatively big chunk of fashion brands revenue will come from digital products. Our goal as a company is to actually supersede the product photos … and substitute it for something which is way more engaging and closer to offline shopping.”
Gucci’s digital shoes will be unavailable for resale since the digital product is only at the beginning stages. Rest assured, Wanna is expected to work with Gucci on creating trading capabilities similar to the way NFTs are traded digitally.
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Ba&sh turns to sneakers and Snapchat in bid for Gen-Z – Glossy
French luxury brand Ba&sh is known for its chic Parisian style, but on Wednesday, the brand added a new category to its product mix: sneakers.
The Crush is the brand’s first sneaker, but rather than go with a thin plimsoll or minimalist tennis shoe, Ba&sh opted for a style modeled off of chunky urban silhouettes from the ’90s, most notably the iconic Jordan One. CEO Pierre-Arnaud Grenade said launching into sneakers was a way for the brand to target Gen Z, an important demographic for Ba&sh’s future. Its customer base is wide, but it tends toward women in their 20s and 30s. Sneakers are an $80 billion business as of last year, and the majority of consumers on resale platforms like StockX and Goat are under age 25.
On top of launching into a new category, the brand is promoting the shoe in a new way. Ba&sh partnered with Snapchat on a new augmented reality-powered filter that lets customers virtually try-on shoes before purchasing them. Grenade said this feature is available on any consumer’s smartphone and is being promoted along with the sneakers on all of the brand’s social channels and through Snapchat ads. The virtual try-on feature can also be provided by sales associates at one of Ba&sh’s more than 200 stores. After virtually trying on the shoes in-store, customers would have to order the shoes online, since they are not carried in stores.
The virtual try-on is meant to help ease existing customers into a new category that may be unfamiliar. It offers them a chance to see how the shoes look when worn before buying them, while also tapping into Snapchat’s vast Gen-Z audience. Snap has claimed that it reaches 90% of all 13- to 24-year-olds in the U.S.
“One of the biggest problems facing apparel e-commerce is low conversion rates,” said Raghav Sharma, co-founder of AR fitting room tech company Perfectly and an expert on augmented reality. “Part of this is shoppers’ hesitancy to try out new brands, fits and styles because they just cannot picture themselves in something new. AR and fit visualization solutions can help bridge this gap and drive conversion and sales upward. This reinforcement can go a long way to clinch a purchase, and [results in] a lower chance of a return or an abandoned cart.”
While Ba&sh’s sneaker launch is an attempt to get more traction with Gen Z, Grenade said the goal isn’t to compete directly with brands like Nike or Adidas, both of which have dabbled in virtual try-on before. The sneakers’ price, construction and colorways are all meant to position it as a competitor with other sneakers from high-fashion brands like Gucci. They’re $295, hand-made of leather in Portugal and feature muted shades.
“We believe it’s a fashion product, not a sports product,” Grenade said.
But Ba&sh did make one notable move that closely mirrors the strategies of Nike and Adidas. Its initial release of the style’s three colorways is limited. Grenade declined to say exactly how large the first run is, only sharing that the order was “conservative.” To balance that, the brand did a digital raffle 24 hours prior to release, hosted on its e-commerce site, to determine which consumers had first dibs on purchasing them.
The sneaker raffle is a well-known process for the dedicated sneakerhead and one that Grenade hopes can bring a sense of exclusivity to the launch. But he also said the production team is “remaining agile.” The time to market is three months, so if demand is high, the brand can produce another run quickly.
Ba&sh is in expansion mode. Grenade said he wants to make sneakers a permanent part of the brand, and more sneakers are to come. LVMH-affiliated private equity firm L Catterton took a 50% stake in the company in 2019, and 2020 saw the brand quadruple its revenue to more than $250 million. It’s now looking for places to channel that energy. Product expansion is one area of focus, along with continuing to open more U.S. stores, of which the brand currently has 10.
“Gen Z is going to dominate the market in the future,” Grenade said. “We don’t want to attract younger consumers just for the sake of going younger. We want to attract them now, so that as they grow, they can continue to be a Ba&sh customer for a long time.”