Gucci expands Web3 offerings with crypto payment coming to stores

What

Gucci is to roll out a trial across five of its US stores later this month to accept cryptocurrency payments including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Wrapped Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and five US dollar stablecoins.

Why

Marco Bizzarri, president and CEO of Gucci, said that the fashion house was “always looking to embrace new technologies” and that “now we are able to integrate cryptocurrencies within our payment system, it is a natural evolution for those customers who would like to have this option available to them”.

What next

Gucci has plans to expand the roll-out of crypto payments across all of its US stores by the Summer, according to a release by Reuters.

The story

Gucci has been ramping up efforts to become involved in the crypto space after hiring a Web3 team and exploring NFT collectables earlier this year.

This follows in the footsteps of other clothing brands, including Nike and Adidas, which have both launched their own NFT brands as a way to digitise their collections for the Metaverse. Clothing brands are likely seeing an opportunity to make sure their brand identity is present in the brave new digital world as much as the real one. This also expands the scaleability of how clothing can be created and sold digitality, as well as placing volume limits on limited edition items to create scarcity.

Back in January, Gucci sent out invites to its Gucci Vault Discord server where only the first 20,000 members to sign up were able to gain access to presales of NFT projects. Here, members were able to purchase two of the brand’s early NFT projects, showing Gucci is taking Web3 and the Metaverse seriously as a way to expand its business ventures. Amanda Cassatt, CEO of marketing firm Serotonin which has collaborated with premier auction house Sotheby’s, said that “If there’s a Soho House of Web 3.0, it’s on Discord”. These moves, along with a Ridley Scott film last year, The House of Gucci, reveals a brand planning that remains part of the wider culture and the Metaverse of the future.

Accepting crypto payments can be done via QR codes that allow retail shoppers to instantly pay for products. The retailer then has a choice to either convert the crypto into cash instantly or keep the crypto.

To learn more about cryptocurrencies, have a look at our learning resources here.