Dive Brief:
- Continuing its experimentation with virtual stores, Crocs has partnered with 3D e-commerce company Obsess to create the Crocs Jibbitz Experience, according to a Friday press release shared with Retail Dive.
- The Jibbitz Experience has five virtual sections designed based on the brand’s Jibbitz charm categories, including food, animals and letters. It also features an arcade-esque claw machine game that lets shoppers collect virtual Jibbitz charms to win a physical one.
- The store also allows shoppers to customize a pair of men’s or women’s Crocs with up to 26 Jibbitz charms and buy a physical version of the custom product. Shoppers can access the store on mobile and desktop web browsers.
Dive Insight:
The Crocs Jibbitz Experience is the third store Crocs and Obsess have launched together, according to the press release. For the shoe brand, the store is meant to show how shoppers can customize their clogs with the variety of charms available.
“Obsess has built a strong partnership with Crocs over the past year, whereby both of our teams are empowered to lean into innovation and new virtual technologies, like the Jibbitz Customizer,” Neha Singh, founder and CEO at Obsess, said in a statement. “The Jibbitz Experience is a perfect example of marrying personalization with discovery-driven shopping, in order to drive prolonged customer value through virtual.”
The partnership with Obsess follows a growth period for Crocs and its new subsidiary, HeyDude.
In a Q1 earnings report, the company reported a nearly 34% year-over-year rise in revenue. While the Crocs brand saw a 19% revenue increase in Q1 to $884.2 million, the revenue for HeyDude, which Crocs bought in 2022 for $2.5 billion, skyrocketed 105% from last year to $235.4 million. After buying HeyDude, Crocs revamped the brand’s logo, color schemes, fonts and overall messaging, a move it made after collecting consumer feedback from focus groups and online forums.
The list of brands lining up to create virtual stores with Obsess now includes brands like Elizabeth Arden, J. Crew, Laneige, Alo Yoga and Laura Mercier. To assist other brands looking to create their own virtual store, Obsess introduced Ava by Obsess in April, which allows brands to create their own virtual stores and 3D experiences.
