Crate & Barrel opens virtual flagship
Crate & Barrel’s new flagship store is open in the Flatiron district of New York City – as well as in the metaverse.
The specialty home furnishings and home goods retailer, which recently launched a new growth plan that includes a focus on omnichannel and artificial intelligence (AI) technology, has opened a brick-and-mortar flagship on Broadway in New York City’s Flatiron district. In tandem with the opening, Crate & Barrel is also rolling out its first immersive virtual store, which replicates the layout and design of the flagship, in partnership with experiential e-commerce platform Obsess.
Visitors to the virtual store will be immersed in a photorealistic, 360-degree, 3D re-creation of Crate & Barrel's new flagship store at 881 Broadway, a circa-1868 building once known as the Palace of Trade. The space features preserved neoclassical columns and an original volcanic ash tile wall.
The fully shoppable virtual environment also provides customers animations and interactive personalization tools that let them visualize their own sofa and living room set and build their own bouquet using Crate & Barrel’s selection of vases and botanicals.
In addition, the 3D virtual store offers more than 450 products and eight interactive room environments, including separate dining, kitchen, living room, botanical shop and Crate & Kids areas.
“Our virtual store in partnership with Obsess is a first-of-its-kind for us as a brand, and we're looking forward to helping our online global customers envision and experience our new physical flagship in NYC," said Sebastian Brauer, senior VP of product design, visual and head of web 3.0, Crate & Barrel. "We want to help our customers dream up their perfect space wherever they are, and this interactive tour allows them to find everything from tableware to furniture, lighting, eIcor and more."
"We're thrilled to partner with Crate & Barrel on this launch and give its online customers, and especially those not based in New York City, an immersive way to discover and shop for products offered in the brand's new flagship store," said Neha Singh, founder and CEO of Obsess. "The virtual store is designed to inspire customers to create their own dream spaces. Every element and product in the environment is available for purchase, giving online customers a very sensory-rich, lifelike shopping experience."