It’s no secret that holiday sales play a significant role in the annual revenue of retailers. Brands are constantly on the lookout for innovative and captivating campaigns to leverage holiday shopping and boost sales. A 3D virtual store offers a fresh and immersive shopping format, serving as a valuable sales channel. Through virtual experiences, brands can create environments based on their physical retail stores, unique concept stores, or even entirely fantastical settings.
Virtual holiday stores provide brands with the opportunity to create immersive and educational experiences filled with engaging content, ideal for the busy gift-giving season. With 3D content and advanced features like gamification and gift recommendation quizzes, brands from various industries have been able to enhance engagement, drive conversions, and expand their reach during the holiday rush.
The benefits of virtual holiday stores are numerous:
- A new and engaging virtual channel that stands out from traditional holiday campaigns
- Interactive and discovery-driven shopping experiences that drive sales and marketing ROI
- Engaging features that foster connections between consumers and the brand
- A one-stop shop for discovering, researching, and purchasing gifts with seamless e-commerce integration
- Lower production costs for CGI visuals compared to traditional shoots and displays
To delve deeper into the impact of immersive experiences on holiday sales, you can download our e-book that compares industry benchmarks from partner Salesforce to Obsess first-party data.
Examples of Virtual Holiday Stores
Obsess has collaborated with various brands and retailers to craft unforgettable virtual holiday stores and experiences. Each experience featured awe-inspiring displays and larger-than-life decorations while retaining essential e-commerce functionality for a truly immersive online shopping adventure during the holiday season. From fashion and beauty brands to consumer packaged goods and beyond, these unique e-commerce experiences transport holiday shoppers to a virtual world unique to each brand.
Here are five examples of Obsess-powered virtual holiday experiences:
J.Crew Virtual Ski Chalet
J.Crew introduced a digital après-ski retreat that embodied the essence of the brand and its seasonal offerings. The innovative ski chalet, filled with interactive elements and holiday-themed ambiance, creatively showcased the latest men’s and women’s collections. Users could explore the Snow Lodge for the newest women’s styles and the Ski Chalet for men’s, discovering a curated selection of seasonal looks and holiday gifts seamlessly integrated into the experience. This fully shoppable journey encouraged virtual holiday shopping.
In addition to dynamic animations, the brand infused the experience with custom gamification to engage shoppers and deepen brand connections. Festive gamification elements included a scavenger hunt game, a vintage video game-style Ski Racing Game, and a branded quiz testing shoppers’ knowledge of the brand’s rich heritage. The scavenger hunt also offered participants an opportunity to win an exclusive luxe cashmere giveaway, encouraging exploration of the entire virtual store. Learn more about the Holiday World of J.Crew.
Corona Holiday Beach Hut
Corona, part of Constellation Brands, invited fans old and new to embrace the holiday spirit in the Feliz Navi-Drip it like it’s hot Beach Hut experience featuring Snoop Dogg. The Mexican beer brand transformed one of its iconic holiday commercials into an immersive virtual adventure set against a palm tree-filled beach at sunset. The experience amplified their holiday campaign in virtual reality, allowing consumers to explore products and interact with the brand in innovative ways.
Exciting features throughout the experience included a custom arcade-style ornament collection game. Inside the festive beach hut with colorful string lights, visitors could watch the commercial and hang out with brand ambassador Snoop Dogg. Through AR technology, users could snap a photo with Snoop and create a personalized holiday card to share. Participants also had the chance to win a limited-edition Talia Coles robe by entering the sweepstakes to match Snoop’s iconic look. Discover more about Obsess’ virtual experiences with Corona, including the Holiday Beach Hut.
Sephora X Cosmopolitan Gifting Suite
Renowned Hearst publication Cosmopolitan joined forces with beauty retailer Sephora to unveil the Gifting Suite. This virtual holiday experience empowered users in search of a signature scent for personal use or as a luxurious gift to explore unique fragrance profiles tailored to their holiday shopping preferences. Redefining the fragrance content and online shopping experience, the immersive journey focused on personalized luxury and discovery.
Draped in chic twinkly lights and adorned with festive disco ball-covered trees, the suite showcased a curated selection of scents directly shoppable within the experience, categorized by notes. At the heart of the experience was a Cosmo-style quiz inviting shoppers to uncover the subtleties of their fragrance preferences. Explore more about the Sephora X Cosmopolitan Gifting Suite.