First you stream it, then you buy it. Netflix moves into ecommerce with Netflix.shop.
Netflix is transcending the screen with its immersive shopping destination, Netflix.shop. Extending the world of stories for fans, it combines rich storytelling with a unique shopping experience.
Netflix has been selling subscription products direct-to-consumer since it was founded more than two decades ago. Now, the streaming giant launches Netflix.shop — the company’s first retail outlet.
It’s the company’s first owned-and-operated direct selling venture first launched in June, selling apparel and lifestyle products tied to Netflix shows.
Extend The World of Our Stories
Netflix already has licensing deals for hundreds of products at outlets such as Target, Amazon, H&M, Sephora and others. The ranges include products based on its vast array of original programming.
Netflix romantic-comedy To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, inspired a clothing and accessories line at H&M and beauty kits at Sephora. Mattel dolls and a Walmart plush toy are tied to the Netflix animated hit “Over the Moon.”
VP of Consumer Products at Netflix says,
“We love it when great stories transcend screens and become part of people’s lives. We’re always looking at how we can extend the world of our stories for fans, from apparel and toys to immersive events and games.”
The main aim of Netflix.shop is to create an outlet for superfans. Available items include limited-edition drops from fashion up and comers Nathalie Nguyen, Kristopher Kites and Jordan Bentley.
These new voices in fashion are helping to bring an array of streetwear and action figures to life.
Netflix.shop sells limited editions of “carefully selected, high-quality apparel and lifestyle products tied to our shows and brand on a regular basis,” Simon, who joined Netflix last year from Nike, wrote in a blog post.
Releases from earlier this year include Yasuke and Eden action figures and limited edition apparel and decor inspired by Lupin, in collaboration with the Musée du Louvre.
Other titles include The Witcher and Stranger Things, as well as new Netflix logo-wear from Japanese fashion house BEAMS.
The Next Step
Netflix.shop is the next logical step for the streaming company, which is increasingly concerning itself with the retail business. Executive Josh Simon leads the effort. He is the head of Netflix’s consumer products division.
Simon joined Netflix in March 2020 after leaving a similar role at Nike. His efforts can be seen in the size of the team; having grown from 20 to 60 people since his start.
The online store is created with the tech company Shopify. Simon describes it to Nytimes as a “boutique”. Netflix.shop will allow the company to move faster to meet demand for items related to Netflix shows that trend on social media.
Netflix began making big profits via hits like Bridgerton, a period romance from producer Shonda Rhimes, out in December 2020. Netflix sold $59 sweatshirts based on the show in collaboration with the apparel business Phenomenal. The line includes a lavender hoodie with the words “I Wish to Be Entertained” across the front, as well as a crew neck with the message, “I Burn for You.”
“We did that pretty quickly,”
Mr. Simon tells NYtimes of the Bridgerton sweatshirts,
“but I think we’re talking about a matter of days when we have our next unexpected hit.”
Pop-up Desires
Netflix also sates your pop-up desires this month with Stranger Things pop-up stores appearing in Times Square, New York, and The Americana at Brand in Los Angeles.
Netflix produces the store, with operations managed by Three Ten Merchandise Services and store design by Black Sky Creative.
The stores will immerse fans in the Stranger Things realm via special products and rare photo opportunities.
These include getting up close and personal with a hidden demogorgon in the Upside Down. There are also games to play at a Palace Arcade replica.
Available merchandise includes an Elegorgon, a vinyl piece by Ecuadorian artist Chogrin that depicts what an Eggo waffle eating tween would look like if mated with a demogorgon; General Mills Stranger Things cereal packaged in original 1980s-style boxes but set in the world of the show; collectable Bandai action figures, including 16-inch demogorgons with interchangeable heads; customizable apparel stations; and more.
Netflix produces the store, with operations managed by Three Ten Merchandise Services and store design by Black Sky Creative.
For more information or to shop Netflix online, check out the site.
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