Netflix and Lacoste Pact On TV-Inspired Clothes Misses Embedded Commerce Mark

While failing to take advantage of the obvious embedded shopping opportunity, the Netflix partnership with Lacoste on a clothing collection inspired by beloved streaming TV shows indicates the larger opportunity, so can embedded commerce be far behind?

The answer is who knows, although for now, fans who want to celebrate Queen Charlotte from “Bridgerton” or the Byers family of “Stranger Things” fame must purchase the new line of embroidered togs and genderless shirts the old-fashioned way, i.e., standard eCommerce.

In its Tuesday (April 11) announcement, Netflix said, “Fashion and entertainment can ignite culture and drive fandom — so there’s something powerful about a notable fashion brand and a beloved entertainment company coming together to connect fans in a whole new way.”

That “new way” is via select Lacoste stores, on Lacoste.com, and via Netflix.shop.

Per the announcement, Netflix said it’s “given another brand carte blanche to work with the codes of some of its most renowned shows. Chosen for the values they convey and the diversity of their audiences,” those shows are “Stranger Things,” “Bridgerton,” “Lupin,” “Money Heist,” “The Witcher,” “Sex Education,” “Shadow and Bone” and “Elite.”

“We think products can be a powerful medium for storytelling and partnering with Lacoste presents a unique opportunity to blend the worlds of fashion and entertainment,” said Josh Simon, vice president of consumer products at Netflix. “This collection is a compelling and creative way for fans to express their love for our stories and characters.”

The collection includes “genderless” Lacoste polos, caps, sweatshirts and tracksuits “halfway between sports and fashion,” the companies said, with the iconic Lacoste crocodile “embroidered or flocked on all the pieces in the range. For “Stranger Things,” his face changes to the terrifying Demogorgon’s. In a nod to Queen Charlotte from Shondaland’s “Bridgerton,” he wears an oversized wig. Other pieces are adorned with an all-over toile de Jouy-like print.

Lacoste Deputy CEO Catherine Spindler said, “We are delighted with this collaboration which has resulted in a unique encounter between our two worlds and two global references of creativity and innovation, both with an unparalleled power to bring together communities from all walks of life. The collection born from our collaboration is the embodiment of this powerful encounter, of our respective codes, influences and know-how.”

Amazon beat Netflix to the punch with its March unveiling of a clothing line inspired by the Prime Video series “Daisy Jones and the Six” which now has its own Amazon storefront.

Featuring 70s-era “boho” fashion looks, including denim cutoffs, cropped tanks, crochet tops, and cowboy boots, an Amazon storefront for an Amazon Prime Video original series is a step closer to embedded shopping, but still not as easy as clicking on an item in the show as you watch and purchasing it in-stream without enduring friction-filled visits to other websites, much less brick and mortar stores, to dress like Daisy Jones.

PYMNTS’ Karen Webster riffed on this continued failure to turn streaming content platforms into streaming commerce platforms. That column involved outfits from the Netflix series “Emily in Paris,” but clearly, the implications go beyond any one show or streaming video platform.

Calling embedded commerce inside of streaming shows “one of the greatest untapped opportunities inherent in the digital transformation of the global economy,” Webster said, “Streaming is a high-engagement activity for which there is currently low commerce penetration, outside of subscription fees, but a huge potential for expanding the GDP of the world’s digital transformation. Making the brands inside of the shows on those platforms shoppable — in the moment — creates new revenue streams for streaming platforms, show stars, and brands that want those impulse buys.”