Beauty and skincare brand L’Occitane En Provence has announced the launch of a new holiday virtual store.
The virtual store has been developed by Emperia, and was designed in partnership with UK-based artist Steven Wilson.
Designed as a cosy chalet, the stores transports all visitors to its location in a virtual version of the French Alps.
The store itself takes inspiration for its design, theme and atmosphere from the 70s.
Through the virtual experience, the brand allows visitors to experience its limited-edition holiday ranges and learn about its recycling initiatives.
The experience’s layout aims to optimise user interactivity and make product discovery easier.
It is divided into five different product areas for easy exploration: advent calendar, holidays limited edition collection, gift sets, fragrances, and Santa’s wish list.
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It also features a mini game where visitors are required to collect a gift box, a gift card and some ribbons.
Upon completion of the mini game, an animation shows the visitor their box, rewarding them with a special L’Occitane Christmas offer.
The store doesn’t end just inside but also features an outdoor area of the store, complete with a camp fire and a post card station.
Stepping outdoors, each visitor is greeted by a Christmas experience with a lit up olive tree in the middle.
Underneath the tree, visitors can also create personalised postcards with their wish list of L’Occitane products to send to their loved ones.
Constructing the virtual chalet
The holiday collection designs and illustrations in the experience have been created in partnership withUK-based artist Steven Wilson.
Talking about the inspiration and idea behind the experience, Mariana Rodrigues, Marketing Director of L’Occitane Middle East said, “It’s a dream journey, like being in a chalet, where they can explore the true origins of L’Occitane as a brand.
“The olive tree is symbolic and traditional for Provence, so our vision was to bring back those traditions to our customers.
“The holiday season is pure magic, and we want our customers to experience the enchantment of L’Occitane and Provence.”
The experience itself was created by Emperia, which specialises in developing virtual and online retail experiences.
”Nowadays users are demanding more from their online retail experience, expecting a far more personalised and interactive journey, one that reflects the brand’s values and elevates the shopping experience, to adhere to their own set of needs, wants and preferences,” says Olga Dogadkina, co-founder and CEO at Emperia,
“Virtual stores are no longer this one-of campaign but rather fill this great need of a new generation of shoppers to get to know their retailer on a personal level and what it stands for, significantly improving brand loyalty and improving brands’ online performance.”
View the entire virtual experience here
