Watches and Wonders partnered with Alibaba's Tmall to offer a hybrid version of the event in China, featuring virtual 3D displays. Photo Credit: Hodinkee
Watches and Wonders, the world's biggest watchmaking event, recently
partnered with China's Alibaba Group to host a hybrid version of the
show in China that ran simultaneously with the physical exhibition held
in Geneva from 27 March to 2 April.
Alibaba's online marketplace Tmall created a 3D space on its app that
allowed consumers to try on the latest watch models during the trade
show.
Luxury watch brands such as Cartier, Piaget and Mont Blanc displayed
some of their latest models on Tmall Luxury Pavilion, a state-of-the-art
platform offering immersive shopping experiences featuring tech such as
augmented and virtual reality. More than 40 watches could be ‘tried on’
and were also available for purchase.
“The excitement and the exclusivity of the event… is recreated on
Tmall Luxury Pavilion thanks to an innovative 3D format, giving users in
China the opportunity to live an immersive experience,” said Tmall
Luxury Pavilion head Janet Wang, in an article published on Alizila, the
news hub for Alibaba Group.
The article also referenced that while the broader Tmall app is
representative of Chinese society at large, given the app’s ubiquity in
the world’s second-largest economy, luxury shoppers on the app’s digital
site tend to be younger.
It said digital natives under 28 years represent the fastest-growing
cohort on Tmall Luxury Pavilion and make up nearly 40% of purchases on
the platform. These Generation Z shoppers are au fait with interacting
with short videos, live streaming and social media compared with
previous generations.
This collaboration between Alibaba Group and Watches and Wonders is
not the first in the event’s history - the two has previously partnered
in 2021 to amplify the event’s digital capabilities.