How Solaire is Revolutionizing the Fashion Industry with Web3 Technology and Building the Retail Infrastructure on NEAR
CASE STUDIES
March 30, 2023
Solaire – an exciting web3 retail platform that merges physical and digital assets – is revolutionizing the way consumers interact with fashion brands. By harnessing the power of web3 and the NEAR blockchain, Solaire is building out key protocol infrastructure and APIs that will expand decentralized retail and unlock new opportunities for both shoppers and fashion brands alike.

Solaire is pioneering phygital use cases and brands will be able to leverage the NEAR blockchain in tandem with Solair’s powerful APIs to engage with their audience in novel ways. Solaire’s suite of APIs seamlessly integrates with a brand’s existing retail channels. This enables new revenue channels and richer data. 

Solaire’s entire backend is fully on-chain and facilitates an easy-to-use web2 interface, with no wallet or crypto needed from shoppers. The NEAR blockchain helps Solaire provide these benefits for brands, as well as unique integrations with NEAR. This includes Solaire integration with the NEAR Mainnet, native NEAR wallet support, and the NEAR token as a payment option.

How Solaire is Changing Fashion with Phygital
Solaire establishes a 1:1 connection between a physical object and its digital twin. Brands can then leverage Solaire’s infrastructure and suite of APIs to engage customers with NFTs and phygital experiences in a seamless, user-friendly way, removing some of the typical web3 friction points.

“We aim to do all the hard work on the backend so that brands and consumers can enjoy a familiar user experience with all the benefits of Web3 but without the hassle of dealing with wallet or crypto,” says Vivian Zhang, CEO of Solaire. “And NEAR’s blockchain is perfectly suited to run enterprise-level protocols to ensure a seamless and frictionless user experience.”

Soliare infrastructure helps brands create meaningful digital twins for physical goods, as well as providing a means for consumers to buy and trade phygital assets. Solaire allows for minting unique NFTs attached to physical goods and offers an end-to-end solution for securing and tracking a product from manufacturing through its entire product lifecycle.

Solaire has already collaborated with major fashion brands like Freeman’s Limited Edition Phygital Harry Potter™ Collection and Ilona Song. Smart contracts facilitate shipping, returns, and exchanges all on the NEAR blockchain This allows customers to shop and purchase with transparency and confidence.

Benefits of Phygital Assets for Fashion Brands
Phygital assets are a new way for fashion brands to engage consumers, combining the physical and digital worlds to create a more immersive shopping experience. For example, when a customer buys a dress in real life, they also receive a digital wearable. This can be in the form of an AR filter, a digital skin in their favorite game, or to wear in the metaverse. 

“Solaire’s mission is to empower the retail industry with web3 tools to cultivate a more connected and automated ecosystem,” Zhang continues. “With our suite of APIs, brands are able to maximize revenue and gain valuable data from digital assets, facilitate the secondary market, and build community.”

Brands can then use Solaire as a powerful CRM tool. Through the digital twin in customers’ wallets, brands will have a constant open channel of communication with both the primary customer and secondary owners. Smart contracts also automate royalties from secondary selling, giving brands visibility into trading data.

Another exciting feature is the secondary market experience brands can now provide. Solaire’s backend enables peer-to-peer physical asset trading without a middleman, utilizing blockchain-secured data and smart contracts. Buyers and sellers can independently confirm possession and authenticity of assets on-chain, and smart contracts resolve any disputes.

Solaire and NEAR Building a Phygital Fashion Future
“We’re building on NEAR because it champions community, and it’s one we have found to be incredibly supportive,” remarks Vivian Zhang, CEO of Solaire. “We’ve been able to connect and collaborate with so many partners as we build an entire retail ecosystem together on NEAR.”

As fashion brands recognize the value of web3, NFTs, and phygital technology as important audience touchpoints, Solaire has the potential to partner with even more fashion brands and designers. Solaire’s game-changing approach and tech stack – aided by the NEAR blockchain – will bring web3 to more fashionistas without some of the usual pain points.

“Together with NEAR, we hope to lay out the Web3 infrastructure for the retail industry to onboard the next billion users into web3,” concluded Zhang.