According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Platforms is debuting a digital clothing store to let users buy designer outfits for avatars.
He said there would immediately be items from Balenciaga, Prada and Thom Browne.
Meta said these things would cost between $2.99 and $8.99, less than the real-world outfit’s cost.
The avatars refer to a way for Meta to link user identity across its platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and other services.
Meta has reportedly been looking to tie together platforms, steering more toward a metaverse with interconnected digital worlds to let users gather. The users can set up the avatars to play games, take exercise classes, take conference calls and more.
According to Zuckerberg, the store could turn into an “open marketplace” where developers can make and sell a “wide array” of digital clothes.
Meta has had some promises accepted by the French Competition Authority to share advertising data with competitors in France.
The antitrust regulation had been looking into Meta’s business practices. Meta has now said it will give rival firms information about customer behavior, which is “central” to planning online ad campaigns.
“It’s the first time Meta makes commitments to a competition authority (over the ad sector),” said Henri Piffaut, the authority’s vice chairman. “You can develop an ecosystem, but it shouldn’t exclude a competitor.”
Meanwhile, Meta has said it wants to look more into helping online shopping become a social experience rather than a normal task, using ecommerce and digital payments.
“While search engines and cCommerce sites are great at meeting customer demand for a product, they’re not effective at generating it. That’s the superpower of our platform,” Meta said in a blog post on Wednesday.
The company said it has been working on building “a powerful discovery engine” to look at customer needs, product discovery and more.
