Happy Friday!
We have lots of updates to report from the intersection of video, technology, and commerce this week.
First up - Snapchat is getting serious about social commerce, and we love how it continues to differentiate itself from other social media platforms. This week it announced plans to become an AR fitting room, in a bid to prove that a virtual try-on experience can reduce purchase returns. Snapchat could be on to something. Online activities that mirror the in-store shopping experience, e.g. live chat between show presenter and shopper, can lead to up to 50% reduction in returns.
Our Top Pick this week is Bloomberg’s article on how luxury brands like Gucci, Balenciaga, and Burberry are making millions in the metaverse. Digital versions of physical products are lucrative, and free from the supply-chain issues currently being experienced around the world in the delivery of physical goods.
Meta (formerly known as Facebook) announced that it is releasing its first metaverse VR social platform Horizon Worlds in the US and Canada, a platform that The Verge describes as ‘Roblox meets the OASIS’.
Given the amount of money luxury brands are making selling digital clothing, we think it's curious that characters in Horizon Worlds exist only from the waist up. It seems like a missed opportunity for selling volumes of digital skirts, sneakers, and pants!
Until next week!
DojaCode: The First ever codable music video experience
And finally,
Nonprofit organization Girls Who Code has partnered with musician Doja Cat to launch the world's first codable music video for her hit song Woman.
This incredible collaboration introduces coding in a fun and interactive way through a captivating music video that enables anyone to code certain parts of the music video. It was fantastic to change the colour of Teyana Taylor's nails and even activate Doja Cat's power!
We are big fans of combining creativity, technology and learning, so we loved this! Check it out and pick up a few tips and tricks about coding.