While some fashion houses play catch up, Gucci is tapping into the crypto crowd and building on recent Web3 activity.
Gucci is one the most renowned and influential luxury brands in the world today, a genuine global reference for fashion and accessories, and a benchmark for a modern, innovative business.
The Gucci brand will accept cryptocurrency payments in some US stores at the end of this month, and plans to extend the pilot to all of its directly operated North America stores this summer. The move marks a major validation for the currency from a leading luxury brand.
In-store crypto payments will be made with a link sent via email to the customer; the link contains a QR code that allows them to execute the payment from their crypto wallet. The first Gucci stores to take crypto are Wooster Street in New York, Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles, Miami Design District, Phipps Plaza in Atlanta and The Shops at Crystals in Las Vegas. Gucci will accept payments in more than 10 currencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Wrapped Bitcoin, Litecoin, Shiba Inu and five stablecoins pegged to the US dollar. It will also accept Dogecoin, a “meme” cryptocurrency originally created as a joke.
Crypto payments are usually accepted in physical spaces through a QR code or NFC reader on an existing point of sale terminal that connects with a customer’s smartphone cryptocurrency app, similar to mobile credit card payments. A retailer can automatically convert the payment to fiat currency, such as US dollars, or keep the payments in the form of cryptocurrency.
