Aeropostale and the Metaverse – is this something brands should emulate?

The metaverse holds immense fascination for retailers – as the possibilities are truly mind-blowing!

The latest brand to step onto this arena is Aéropostale, the fashion retail company. Aeropostale is stepping into the metaverse.

It is putting together what will be a four-part metaverse activation, partnering with Web3 development platform MetaversePlus.

The first phase involves the launch of AeroPax, which is a collection of 30,000 non-fungible tokens (NFTs), on the 23^rd of March. On buying one of those NFTs, the customer can win promotional merchandise; get access to some exclusive limited edition apparel, etc. This AreoPax will becomes the property of the customer who can use it as a digital pass to a metaverse world called AeroWorld that Aeropostale is working on setting up.

At this AeroWorld, customers can create avatars, access various virtual and real-world experiences and collect points which they can use to earn perks.

And – wait for this – as a promo to this entire extravaganza in the metaverse, Aeropostale will give Teslas to ten AeroPax holders!

These are only the first and second phases of this exercise. There is more to come!

This is the latest in Aeropostale’s campaigns on various popular channels like TikTok and Instagram, to drive its engagement efforts and forge stronger connections with its target audience.

And so, it is no surprise that Brands are starting to include the metaverse in their marketing strategy – and this is advantageous in many ways.

They can reach a wider audience. They can engage better with the young/techie generation.

Engagement is one of the great advantages that metaverse brings – since it is possible to create various experiences and promos in the metaverse, which increases user-engagement exponentially. Gen Z and the digital generation are most comfortable in a digital space and Aeropostale is doing the right thing to engage with them there.

And the fact that they are creating this large immersive experience phased in four parts, throwing in fabulous offers (Tesla!) and exclusive perks to draw them in and keep them engaged there, is a great strategy to put the company back on its feet.

It is also a move away from one-off metaverse launches and towards one that encourages and draws customers in to repeat visits and a deeper level of customer engagement. This will help in two ways – more revenues, and a terrific opportunity for the brand to understand this particular demographic that they are engaging with. This will lead to honing their messaging and their strategy which will then facilitate an even better engagement with the young techie generation.

Gen Z is digital. Gen Z likes the different things you can do digitally. So it is interesting to see Aeropostale factor this in to their strategy for the metaverse. So it is not just NFTs that win you merchandise or limited edition clothes, it could even win you a Tesla. Or take you into the Aeroworld. Create avatars. You could be featured on the brand’s social channels. When you buy the NFT, you get a limited edition hoodie! And if all this is not enough, there’s more that is coming around the corner!

While Aeropostale is among several other brands that are working around the metaverse, it remains to be seen if all these efforts will benefit the fashion retailer. What with the new kid on the block, Generative AI sweeping across the world, and several big names (like Meta) stepping away from metaverse, is it too little, too late? Time will tell.