OREANDA-NEWS. Today Mastercard and Swarovski launched a virtual reality (VR) shopping app for the Atelier Swarovski home décor line, a collection of functional and decorative crystal home accessories designed in collaboration with world-renowned architects and designers. The app immerses consumers in a tastefully decorated home where they can browse and purchase the pieces with Masterpass, Mastercard’s digital payment service.

This new shopping app highlights the value of the pieces, the story behind the inspiration, the complex manufacturing process, and the designers’ creative journeys in a new and engaging way. Masterpass enables consumers to check-out from within the VR experience without having to add payment details.

Consumers can place their phone into a compatible VR headset to enter the experience, which lets them walk through the five areas of the virtual home to browse designs by artists such Norwegian-born Kim Thome, Amsterdam-based Aldo Bakker, Spanish designer Tomás Alonso and the renowned architect Zaha Hadid. Once in the VR environment, they are able to learn about the stories behind each piece, read through descriptions, see the pricing, and in some cases watch videos about its craftsmanship.

“Atelier Swarovski Home is a masterfully crafted collection that is most dynamic when experienced first-hand,” said Nadja Swarovski, Member of the Executive Board, Swarovski Crystal Business. “As our e-commerce business continues to grow, this partnership allows consumers a fully immersive shopping opportunity to interact with the product and then purchase seamlessly within the experience. The cutting-edge VR technology allows consumers to fully realize scale and engage more deeply with design details before making a purchase – anywhere. We’re grateful to have Mastercard join us for this exciting, first-time endeavor.”

How it works:

  • Upon launching the app, consumers will be prompted to log in and begin an authenticated, secure session by using their Masterpass account credentials.
  • After starting a session, consumers will be able to navigate through the home’s different rooms and browse through the collection by moving their heads left to right or up and down.
  • Once the consumers decide and select the piece from the collection that they want to purchase, they can add it to the cart and checkout by focusing their gaze on the Masterpass button that appears at the bottom of the product description.
  • When the consumer exits the application or the session detects that the headset has been removed, the consumer will be automatically logged out of their Masterpass account to protect against unintended purchases.

“At Mastercard, our goal is to provide consumers with the choice to shop when they want, how they want in a manner that is as seamless and secure as possible,” said Linda Kirkpatrick, EVP Merchants & Acceptance, Mastercard. “This means that merchants need to be able to engage their customers across multiple, technology platforms – in-store, online, in-app and via virtual and augmented reality. The Swarovski VR app is an example of how Mastercard is bringing safer and richer retail experiences to life to address the full range of merchant and consumer needs.”

The virtual interactive experience was created and developed by immersive technology company Youvisit, enabling Atelier Swarovski’s consumers to engage deeply in the stories behind the home décor collection.

The app will be available for download from the iTunes app and Google Play stores in October.

“There’s no question that immersive technology will transform how consumers shop online, and we are really proud to be the platform Swarovski and Mastercard selected to become first movers in this space,” said Abi Mandelbaum, CEO and co-founder of YouVisit. “Consumers are going to love this first-of-its-kind virtual shopping experience.”

About Mastercard

Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry.  We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories.  Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone.  Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

About Swarovski

Swarovski delivers a diverse portfolio of unmatched quality, craftsmanship, and creativity. Founded in 1895 in Austria, the company designs, manufactures and markets high-quality crystals, genuine gemstones and created stones as well as finished products such as jewelry, accessories and lighting. The Swarovski Crystal Business is run by the fifth generation of family members and has a global reach with approximately 2,800 stores in around 170 countries, more than 27,000 employees, and revenue of about 2.6 billion euros in 2016. Together with its sister companies Swarovski Optik (optical devices) and Tyrolit (abrasives), Swarovski Crystal Business forms the Swarovski Group. In 2016, the Group generated revenue of about 3.37 billion euros and employed more than 32,000 people. A responsible relationship with people and the planet is an integral part of Swarovski’s heritage. The global Swarovski Waterschool education program has reached 461,000 children on the world’s greatest rivers, and the Swarovski Foundation, set up in 2013, works to support culture and creativity, promote well-being, and conserve natural resources to achieve positive social impact. www.swarovskigroup.com