Lindt Created Its Own 3D Virtual Store
It seems like nowadays everything is trying to be virtual– and not just in the sense of online shopping. You'll hear about companies striving to have more of an "online presence" or trying to lean more into building a social media following. As more and more companies turn away from the traditional brick-and-mortar to try and attract an audience in places like the Metaverse, you have to wonder what the future of business and shopping will look like. For Lindt, the future is now, and it's here to sell you chocolate in the cloud.
Lindt has always seemed to pride itself on being the chocolate lover's choice of confection, describing itself in deliciously glowing terms. From its website, Lindt & Sprüngli tell us that its candy strives to "ensure quality, social and ecological standards" and that each truffle and piece of chocolate is made using ethically-sourced pure cocoa beans. In case you think that this is just another case of fancy PR talk to describe chocolate, you have to remember that Lindt is based in Switzerland — a country known for being not just one of the largest chocolate exporters in the world but one of the highest consumers of chocolate per capita (via CBI). If anyone knows chocolate, it's the Swiss.
But for all of its knowledge of chocolate, does Lindt have the knowledge to navigate the virtual world? It seems Lindt's newest marketing endeavor takes the company to the digital frontier with its new 3D virtual shop.
How does the Lindt 3D store work?
How exactly does a "3D virtual store" work? Is it like some kind of big interactive model of a chocolate store that you could explore using a 3D avatar? Or is it just a type of online store that displays its products in 3D graphics?
As the Lindt Beyond Store demonstrates, the virtual store is a combination of these ideas. The viewer finds themselves in a digital Lindt Chocolate store, where an avatar of real Lindt Master Chocolatier, Ann Czaja, greets them and acts as the "guide" to the virtual space. In front of the viewer is a selection of Lindor Truffles and a wall of different chocolates. To the right are displays of Gifting and Boxed Chocolate. A "Living Room" diorama offers the consumer a variety of gift suggestions and stocking stuffers for the holiday season. To the left of the viewer are a selection of chocolate bars and hollow chocolates and the "Chocolate Lab" that details how each piece of chocolate is made through a simulated demonstration.
"Here at Lindt USA, we are delighted to offer customers this cutting edge, retail experience just in time for the holidays," says Vice President of Retail and E-Commerce Patrick Diggelmann (via AccessWire). He notes that while entering a real Lindt store is a truly one-of-a-kind experience, the virtual store hopes to capture some of the feeling. Lindt collaborated with ByondXR, a virtual-reality platform, to build their online store and the interactive experience.