Social Study

Burberry’s latest boutique goes beyond the phygital space.

Burberry has been a pioneer in building phygital luxury stores since 2012. These boutiques meld the physical environment with digital experiences and use technology such as radio-frequency identification tags attached to products that trigger specific multimedia content on nearby screens.

Eight years on, with an estimated 3.6 billion people on social networks, the brand is leading the way in incorporating social media into its stores – this time with the help of Chinese tech giant Tencent.

On July 31, the brand inaugurated its new boutique in MixC Shenzhen Bay, Shenzhen’s latest retail development, marking the first step in its exclusive partnership with Tencent and luxury’s first “social retail” store. Using a specially created mini programme within Tencent’s social media and messaging platform WeChat, customers can book their preferred changing room in advance, make reservations at the store’s in-house restaurant and unlock exclusive content and experiences that can be shared with their online communities.

Unsurprisingly, several of these experiences involve the opportunity for stylish selfies (all the better for sharing on social media). One is The Trench Experience, a room with a “digitally immersive journey through nature” inspired by founder Thomas Burberry’s quest to create a breathable and waterproof fabric. The room can only be unlocked when a customer has earned enough “social currency” through interacting with the brand in the store and on the app. Even the digital menu at the store’s eatery, Thomas’s Cafe, is dynamic. The more you engage with the brand, the more menu items are unlocked.