Brief:

• Gucci this week partnered with Snapchat for the social media platform's first global branded AR shoe try-on Lenses. The luxury fashion brand sponsored an augmented reality (AR) lens that overlays a digital version of its shoes on a smartphone user's feet and shows a "shop now" button for immediate purchase, according to details Snapchat parent Snap shared with Mobile Marketer.
• Gucci is offering four styles of footwear in two AR lenses, each with two pairs of shoes: Gucci Ace, Gucci Rhyton, Gucci Tennis 1977 and Gucci Screener, Women's Wear Daily reported. The shoppable lenses are available in the U.S., U.K., France, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Japan, per Snap.
• Snap this month introduced the AR shoe try-on lenses at its yearly Snap Partner Summit, where it also showcased updates to the Snap AR Camera and unveiled its Snap Mini program for small apps that run inside Snapchat, among other new features.

Insight:

Gucci is notable as the first brand to sponsor a global Snapchat AR lens that lets people virtually try on a pair of shoes before making a purchase. The activation gives the luxury brand a chance to reach consumers who can't visit a store in regions where shopping malls and department stores remain closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Product demonstrations are considered one of the most promising applications for AR technology, giving brands a way to provide an immersive experience to consumers who are either on the go or stuck at home. Before the pandemic negatively affected sales, retailers were forecast to spend $1.5 billion this year on augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technology to improve the customer experience, researcher International Data Corp. found.

Gucci's sponsorship of a virtual shoe try-on on Snapchat is the latest collaboration between the companies. For the holiday season last year, Gucci sponsored the first luxury fashion "portal lens" on Snapchat to engage shoppers. The activation gave the illusion of stepping through a computer-generated portal to visit a psychedelic tropical island that showed virtual handbags and accessories. Gucci also sponsored a limited-edition pair of Snapchat Spectacles, the company's camera-equipped wearable, in a collaboration with director and visual artist Harmony Korine, Business Insider reported.

Gucci's latest tie-up with Snap indicates that the brand has seen positive results from its adoption of AR, a technology it has independently invested in. Gucci last year added an AR feature to its iOS app that let shoppers virtually try on sneakers and make a purchase. As part of a customization service for several products, Gucci in 2018 equipped some stores with a tool that let customers point an iPad or iPhone camera at a real product available in-store, personalize the item and see it in a real-world setting, WWD reported. Athletic brands Adidas, Nike and Puma also have adopted AR shoe try-ons in their marketing.

Snapchat reaches 75% of people ages 13 to 34 and 90% of people ages 13 to 24 in the U.S., per data provided by Snap. While that younger-skewing audience may not wield much spending power, about 39% of U.S. households with annual incomes of more than $100,000 used Snapchat in 2018, according to data compiled by Statista. About 30% of U.S. households have that level of income and are a likely target to buy luxury goods.