L’Occitane celebrates Ramadan with metaverse shop
A French global beauty brand is launching its third seasonal metaverse storefront.
L’Occitane en Provence, which opened a holiday virtual store based on the Emperia metaverse platform in November 2023 and launched an immersive, interactive metaverse shopping experience based on Emperia in July 2023, is now partnering with Emperia to open a metaverse store in honor of the Islamic holiday of Ramadan.
Celebrated this year from Sunday, March 10 to Tuesday, April 9, Ramadan is observed by Muslims globally as a month of fasting and prayer. The L’Occitane virtual Ramadan store replicates a traditional Middle Eastern house, set within a village atmosphere, designed in collaboration with Jeddah, Saudi Arabia-based artist Bayan Yasien.
Each illustration showcases L'Occitane products while also representing important aspects of the Ramadan celebration, such as the preparation of iftar (the sunset meal breaking the daylight fast.) Following the tradition of gifting during this period, L’Occitane also presents a Ramadan beauty calendar and exclusive gift sets featuring bestsellers integrated into the virtual world.
Customers can also interactively explore seasonal exclusive offerings, such as skincare products to help with the common occurrence of skin dehydration during Ramadan fasting. L’Occitane assists customers through a questionnaire where each response generates a final product recommendation that can be directly added to their shopping cart.
The new virtual experience also allows social sharing, either via an e-mail or direct social network message, enabling customers can shop and share their choices with loved ones and friends. Any shared experience grants both the sender and recipient an exclusive discount.
“We are thrilled to step into our customers' homes during this holy month, aiming to transcend traditional boundaries and to transform moments into lasting memories by launching our captivating virtual reality experience for the launch of our Ramadan village,” said Mariana Rodrigues, marketing director of L’Occitane Middle East. “We believe in weaving immersive storytelling and unique experiences that resonate with the spirit of this holy month, creating a profound connection with our valued customers."
“We are always impressed by the L’Occitane team’s ability and will to push the envelope when it comes to creating their virtual experiences,” said Olga Dogadkina, co-founder, and CEO at Emperia. “Rather than focusing solely on the traditional function of e-commerce, the brand keeps working with Emperia on enriching the online journey through education and individualization, embodying its heritage of top personal customer support, catered to guests’ unique needs, while leveraging new technologies.”
L’Occitane is a global, natural, and organic ingredient-based cosmetics and well-being products manufacturer and retailer founded in Provence, France, with stores all over the world and a growing presence in the Middle East.