Into the Metaverse: Sunglass Hut’s Aims to Bridge the Gap Between E-Commerce and Physical Stores

Thanks to creative collaborations like Sunglass Hut and Ready Player Me, in-game character creation is now more customizable than ever. The avatar platform has now made the EssilorLuxottica-owned brand’s real-life eyewear styles available for users’ 2D counterparts to wear – they have to scan a QR code at select Sunglass Hut locations to access their digital Ray-Ban or Oakley pairs. It’s undoubtedly a fashion-forward step for those looking to channel their personal style across any of the 9,000 games Ready Player Me supports.Uber-personalized virtual fashion has trended up in the last half-decade, accelerated by the rise of mobile gaming in the world of Web 3.0. In 2019, Louis Vuitton teamed up with League of Legends to dress the game’s iconic Champions in the fashion house’s capsule collection, while Balenciaga collaborated with Fortnite in 2021, selling four signature items from their collection for users to wear as skins. However, the Sunglass Hut collab is the first time an eyewear-only brand has blurred the lines between physical and digital – and the brand has demonstrated many efforts to make online shopping and physical visits a truly seamless experience.

A legacy of eyewear

Sunglass Hut was aptly born in sunny Miami as a small family business with a mall kiosk. After over 50 years, the brand has since expanded to over 3,000 locations across the globe, carrying the crème de la crème of eyewear brands. Sunglass Hut’s designer sunglasses include frames from Ray-Ban, Prada, Gucci, and more. Whether you’re looking for a versatile classic pair to take anywhere or a trendy piece to make a statement, the women’s collection has something for every taste. And for bonafide sunglasses lovers who want exclusive access, the brand has a Sun Perks community, which you can join online, offering first dibs, fashion tips, and more. The community is just one of the many ways the brand has sought to connect with its customers digitally.

Digital-first solutions

As a brand that embraced e-commerce as early as 1998, it’s no wonder that Sunglass Hut is setting a standard for digital e-commerce that’s several steps above the rest. In 2013, they launched the Eye Candy vending machine, which allowed customers to physically purchase sunglasses 24/7 after a virtual try-on with the machine’s touchscreen system. In 2019, looking to focus on its most significant source of sales – transient airport shoppers – the brand brought the Smart Shopper platform to its airport locations. Customers on the go could quickly whip up a customized pair or shop for an item that wasn’t physically available at the branch. This digital solution conveniently addresses both customer demand and the issue of limited inventory space at airport locations.

Virtual looks to the future

Alternate reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have relatively new applications in fashion. Still, long before the latest Ready Player Me collaboration, Sunglass Hut had already dipped its toes into ventures like AR shopping. Together with face filter pioneer Snapchat, they created an experience that allowed customers to shop the glasses they tried on, resulting in a reach of 6.7 million. At this point, Sunglass Hut has already found success in AR/VR marketing, both in-store and online – and in 2022, it appears they continued the winning formula with their VR store Sunglass Hut Utopia. Customers were encouraged to traverse the virtual universe and collect all six exclusive products, with the reward being a free gift with any real-life purchase of those styles. And an animated sun appeared on the June 21 summer solstice, presenting a final reward.As Sunglass Hut continues to expand the landscape of how eyewear can be integrated into our increasingly digital landscape and unique personas, longtime customers and brand newcomers alike can look forward to seeing more styles both in the flesh and on the digital versions of themselves.

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