Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
Mastercard Inc. and Next Retail Concepts are bringing to retailers a virtual-shopping experience that has shoppable products.
The three-dimensional, digital environment, available across any Web browser, enables consumers to view and buy products as if they were in the store. Images are from the store and include products selected by the retailer. Products are clickable for more information and purchasing.
As with a traditional e-commerce site, shoppers can view additional images and information about products. “As you find the products, you can add items to the cart, and then use the part to pay,” Stephane Wyper, Mastercard senior vice president for new commerce partnerships and commercialization, tells Digital Transactions News.
New York City-based Next Retail Concepts provides the technology to enable the 3-D store environment and Mastercard is helping with the payments part. The first use is with Fred Segal, a Los Angeles-based fashion retailer, which will start with its West Hollywood flagship store. The technology will premiere at the 29Rooms retail and fashion event later this week in Los Angeles.
Though consumers can use any credit or debit card to shop, those using a Mastercard-branded one can sign up for a one-time loyalty reward for a $30 statement credit when they spend $200 or more on the Fred Segal collection, which is an exclusive selection of holiday gifts.
This online-shopping experience is different from traditional e-commerce sites in that products aren’t simply listed or viewed in a grid. Instead, the shopper is viewing the actual store environment and able to pick products, mimicking the in-store experience to a degree.
“We look at the retail experience as no longer a separate interaction with digital,” Wyper says. “It’s a unified experience.”
Whether consumers shop online or in a brand’s physical store, there is a growing expectation that it will be a single type of experience. “We can now help deliver that,” Wyper adds.
Wyper says this 3-D shopping tool is complementary to existing e-commerce efforts. It can be used to showcase a unique set of products, a new experience, or new products, for example.
Wyper would not disclose the cost to set up 3-D shopping, but says the process takes two to three months from design to launch.
In other Mastercard news, the card brand says it and Microsoft Corp. will collaborate on ways to improve how individuals manage and use their digital identities. The two companies want to develop a way for individuals to use a secure and instant way to verify their digital identities that could be used for financial services, commerce, and government services, and applications like email, social media, and rideshare platforms.
