Why e.l.f. and J.Crew launched Vision Pro apps despite the Apple headset’s hefty price

For $3,500, a shopper could buy 35 pairs of J.Crew chinos, or 500 packs of liquid concealer from e.l.f. Beauty. But both of these brands are hoping that wealthy shoppers will spend that money on a Vision Pro headset instead, and download their new apps. E.l.f. and J.Crew are two of a handful of retail brands, along with others including Lowe’s and Wayfair, that deployed immersive shopping experiences on Apple’s spatial computing device in time for its official launch last Friday. Vision Pro has mainly been touted as an entertainment device and, at $3,500 a pop, not a very accessible one. Yet some marketers view the headset as a must-have channel for their e-commerce efforts, and a first swing at a technology that could revolutionize shopping. “When you have a brand like Apple standing behind this, [you] have to believe,” said Ekta Chopra, chief digital officer at e.l.f. Streamers were promoted by Apple as being the first wave of developers for Vision Pro, with giants such as Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery leveraging the immersive environment for movies and TV shows. But other big media players, including Netflix, YouTube and Spotify, decided to sit out the launch (YouTube has since said it will develop an experience, The Verge reported). Netflix’s co-CEO, Greg Peters, said the device is currently too subscale to justify developing an app, per an interview with tech newsletter Stratechery. More news: Media brands team up on sports streaming service Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs That e.l.f., whose market capitalization is 25 times smaller than that of Netflix, sees things differently is a testament to its conviction that Vision Pro will, soon enough, change e-commerce. The beauty brand’s app is called “your best e.l.f.” and features a series of spatial environments in which users can explore 3D renderings of its products and participate in wellness exercises. If they want to purchase real items, they can do so directly through the app via an integration with Apple Pay. Chopra said that while e.l.f. was intrigued from the moment Apple unveiled Vision Pro last summer, its price tag was a point of consternation, causing “the biggest push back internally.” Most of e.l.f.’s products are geared toward young people who don’t have thousands of dollars to freely splurge, hence the brand’s dependence on TikTok for marketing. Still, e.l.f. is stepping up its marketing spending in a big way, with a celebrity-packed Super Bowl ad. This Gen Z demographic is not who e.l.f. is targeting through its presence on Vision Pro, Chopra acknowledged, though the brand did create a web-based version of its app that is accessible without a device. Instead, the experience is meant to probe for new audiences by introducing the brand in a novel way and demonstrating its interest in tech-powered commerce. The approach is less concerned about driving purchases than showcasing the brand’s vibes. “We’re not there to just sell makeup,” Chopra said. Even the degree to which e.l.f. will reach female consumers, a key audience, is up in the air. Men are significantly more likely to express interest in the Vision Pro than women, according to market research company YouGov. Among the numerous videos on social media of buyers showing off their headsets, most are of young or middle-aged men. Virtual shopping as a ‘religious experience’ J.Crew’s “Virtual Closet” app allows users to shop for the brand’s products in a 3D environment, including immersive ways to examine the clothing's texture and quality. Users can also buy items without having to leave the experience. When asked why it became an unlikely first mover, Halsey Anderson, VP of marketing at J.Crew, said the luxury brand wanted to be a part of the conversation surrounding the device. It’s no exaggeration that an Apple headset has been anticipated for nearly a decade, and since its unveiling last summer, the product has only grown in popularity. As with any burgeoning platform, brands can draw interest from Vision Pro by simply appearing on it. J.Crew’s app leverages SharePlay, a feature of the device that is receiving particular attention for its ability to make virtual reality a social activity. In “Virtual Closet,” users can schedule an appointment with one of J.Crew’s three SharePlay-trained stylists, who will appear in the user’s experience and give them tips on outfits and any other style advice they’re looking for. The feature also allows friends to teleport, as it were, into a user’s dressing room, where they can provide help in much the same way that is possible through physical shopping. While a Vision Pro is necessary to take full advantage of the immersiveness offered by SharePlay, users can also FaceTime into a shopping experience from their iPhone or iPad. Recent news: What to know about shoppable TV ads “Virtual Closet” is a new way to experience J.Crew, Anderson said, and it’s one that is exclusive even among the brand’s relatively well-off clientele. Only customers willing to pay $3,500 just to enter the store will get access to this kind of social shopping. “We know it’s not for everyone,” Anderson said. Who it is for is tech-forward consumers—most likely enthusiasts of Apple—“looking for that religious experience,” Anderson said, alluding to director James Cameron’s first impression of the device, as reported by Vanity Fair. Initial performance metrics will be the number of downloads and time spent on the app, although more ways to measure success are likely to emerge in the coming months. Early entrants During the pre-order period for Vision Pro, between 160,000 and 180,000 headsets were sold, according to insiders. The same period for the Apple Watch in 2015 saw roughly 1 million orders. Neither J.Crew nor e.l.f. are known particularly for taking chances on expensive and unproven technology. But investing in this type of technology early on could eventually bring a big payoff, said Neha Singh, founder and CEO of Obsess. The virtual commerce company developed both J.Crew and e.l.f.’s Vision Pro experiences, as well as those for Alo Yoga and luxury e-commerce platform Mytheresa. “The earliest apps on the App Store have the most downloads,” she said. Singh, who has helped brands develop experiences on other mixed reality headsets including Meta’s Quest product, views Vision Pro as “definitely the most advanced on the market” for shopping. Its ability to showcase a product’s texture and quality is unrivaled, she said, and the overall user experience is a step forward. For these reasons, Singh thinks that the device is both a must-have channel for many retail brands and the beginning of a new standard for virtual shopping. The $3,500 price tag will inevitably turn brands off, Singh acknowledged. But she expects the cost to come down over time, following a trajectory of previous Apple products that have rolled out lower-priced models with fewer features. As this happens, more consumers may buy the devices, and more shopping categories, including home and furniture, may have an opportunity. Wayfair and Lowe’s both deployed apps in time for the launch of Vision Pro. Each experience uses spatial computing to allow a user to remodel a 3D representation of a physical space. “We built the app … to gain additional insights and learnings into how spatial experiences can make it easier and more enjoyable for customers to explore designs, visualize and select the item that is just right for their home,” said Shrenik Sadalgi, director of research and development at Wayfair. Lowe’s did not respond to a request for comment. ~ ~ ~CLARIFICATION: The story has been updated to reflect that users can purchase items directly through e.l.f.’s Vision Pro app. The brand had incorrectly told Ad Age that users would need to exit the app and purchase items from the headset’s browser. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

Why e.l.f. and J.Crew launched Vision Pro apps despite the Apple headset’s hefty price

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