Alibaba Group, China’s biggest international e-commerce retailer, is coming to the metaverse with brand-new AR/VR features on its platform. The company’s subsidiary, Tmall Luxury Pavilion will launch a virtual fashion show with an immersive 3D shopping experience for its luxury products this Thursday.

According to WWD, the retailer has been trying the new metaverse technology for its commercial market. The retailer company joined hands with XR Lab and utilized research products from the Damo Academy to launch metaverse features for high-class customers. 

With personalized virtual avatars and new product launch every month from the top 5 luxury brands, China’s ecommerce Giant is expanding its metaverse endeavors to launch a virtual fashion show. 

Tmall Luxury Pavillion: Virtual Fashion Show

Tmall Luxury Pavillion will be showcasing the IRL items in digital space that users in China can experience by utilizing the new metaverse features. The Virtual Fashion Show will take place in Augmented reality and give away a Meta Pass to lucky shoppers.

The Meta Pass will enable shoppers to have exclusive deals from luxury shopping brands, access to different events, and much more to give a whole shopping experience in mixed reality. 

“We all know how digitally savvy Chinese consumers are and how fast they’re able to adapt to new technologies. That’s why we’re introducing a whole new meta experience,” says Janet Wang, Head of the Luxury Division at Alibaba. 

Wang also shared that the company has seen a sudden surge in digital transformation to metaverse by luxury brands. This seems to indicate that metaverse is going to become a common e-commerce place for commercial purposes. 

Recently, Nike launched a Virtual Store on Roblox, a metaverse platform. Louis Vuitton launched an NFT game. Prada and Gucci released virtual wearables as NFTs.

“The digital world can provide consumers with the same, or even better, shopping experiences and luxury-brand identities than in the real world,” Wang added. 

Although Alibaba is an international platform, the metaverse features are only available for Chinese users on Tmall Luxury Pavillion. Other than the platform itself, the 20 brands listed on the app can also hold their own fashion shows with avatars wearing digital collectibles.

It is truly a unique experience for the consumers.