Web3 sneakerheads have news to get excited about: Sketchers is opening a store in Decentraland (DCL). The top-three athletic footwear company has leased a 5,000-square foot space in DCL’s Fashion District to provide an “immersive” shopping experience.
Michael Greenberg, the president of Sketchers, said that the leasing agreement is an “investment” in Sketcher’s future. The company is looking forward to engaging with customers in a new way and will provide a new Skecher’s “experience.”
Sketchers joined Miller Lite as companies that have bought or leased virtual property in Decentraland, one of the top four metaverses in existence. Just weeks ago, the sneaker company trademarked many terms the brand uses for Web3, as well as “downloadable virtual goods” and “downloadable computer software for interactive games.”
Neither Greenberg nor any other Sketchers executive gave details about when the store would be up-and-running. Although there is no public timetable for the project, Sketchers leasing land puts it ahead of many other companies with Web3 aspirations. Many have filed trademark applications but have not done anything concrete yet.
Creating “Experiences” Becoming a Web3 Buzzword for Top Companies
Although there is no clue yet what the “immersive shopping experience” Sketchers will provide on its DCL property, there’s no doubt that “creating experiences” is a growing buzzword in Web3.
For instance, in the purchase of its The Sandbox property, Gucci announced that it wanted to build experiences on the land. In its virtual bar in DCL, Miller Lite allows users to play billiards and darts, order beers, and watch games. McDonald’s wants to blend the virtual with the real world and enable you to order food in the metaverse, only to have it delivered to your door.
And Manchester City, the U.K. soccer club, wants to build a digital replica of its stadium in the metaverse. Its goal is to provide a hyperrealistic viewing experience for Man City fans, allowing the transcending of geographical boundaries.
Both Decentraland and The Sandbox metaverses allow users to create experiences on the digital land itself. This ability could lead not just to companies building experiences on their land but individual users as well. It may become like a science fiction movie in a way — virtual worlds with many worlds inside them.
It’ll be interesting to watch what Sketchers does with its property moving forward, along with the other companies, to see what otherworldly experiences the metaverse might provide next.