Charlotte Tilbury unveils custom metaverse shopping avatars
Charlotte Tilbury continues to establish itself as a pioneer of metaverse commerce, in partnership with Obsess.
Founded by U.K. makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury, the vertical beauty retailer is expanding the capabilities of virtual customer avatars in its metaverse commerce experience. Leveraging its existing metaverse platform Obsess, Charlotte Tilbury is launching branded avatars that can be personalized across all of a shopper’s characteristics, including skin tone, facial features, body shape, clothing and makeup.
Utilizing the Obsess branded avatar function, the retailer can now allow shoppers to apply complete makeup looks to their avatars, as well as shop and attend events together in real time with their friends’ avatars.
Shoppers can also use their personalized avatars to walk through and experience the virtual environment together, discovering, examining and purchasing products, all while interacting and conversing in real time. No download, signup, login or fee is required
Charlotte Tilbury builds on metaverse history
Charlotte Tilbury is the first brand to offer the Obsess branded avatar functionality, introducing it as part of its existing Charlotte’s Beauty Realm holiday metaverse experience. The retailer has a long-standing presence in the metaverse.
In April 2022, Charlotte Tilbury rolled out the “Pillow Talk Party Virtual Beauty Wonderland,” which it is promoting as the fourth generation of its “virtual world.” This updated user experience enables shoppers to manipulate 3D products, as well view immersive, exclusive filmed content and engage in livestream masterclasses with Charlotte Tilbury beauty professionals.
The retailer initially launched the digitalized version of a brick-and-mortar store, leveraging Obsess technology, on its e-commerce site in November 2020. Within the virtual store, customers can explore, shop, receive personalized advice and product recommendations, join live events with Tilbury and special guests, and watch makeup and skincare tutorials.
In November 2021, Charlotte Tilbury launched a virtual 3D Shop with Friends solution, enabling customers to opt to invite others to join them for a virtual store experience by clicking a button and sending friends and family a link to the virtual store by email or text. The video feature allows individuals in the group to see and hear one another as they navigate the virtual environment separately or together, similar to the experience of a multiplayer video game.
“We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Obsess and to launch an exciting new avatar functionality within Charlotte’s Beauty Realm that allows customers to experience our holiday campaign in another dimension,” said Corinne Suchy, chief growth and technology officer, Charlotte Tilbury. “We have broken new ground with Obsess as we use advanced technology capabilities to create personalization options that offer a phenomenal level of detail that one would expect from a brand led by a visionary like Charlotte Tilbury.”
“Innovative brands have been looking to incorporate more personalization, gamification and social interactivity into their virtual store experiences to make shopping in these environments more engaging, social and fun—essentially more like shopping in real life,” said Neha Singh, founder and CEO of Obsess. “We’re thrilled to launch this industry-first innovation and to push avatar technology forward for all consumers outside of gaming environments. Our platform now enables brands to create their own custom metaverse on their site—where both the environment and avatar style match the brand’s look-and-feel—to give consumers an unforgettable shopping experience.
Charlotte Tilbury has over 1,000 points of distribution worldwide, including department stores and travel retail (U.K., Canada, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy, U.S., Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, India, South Korea, Macau, Australia, New Zealand and mainland China), and 15 stand-alone stores.