Article · January 1, 2024

What Retail Can Learn from Discord

Discord is not just for gamers anymore. Retail brands are finding opportunities to attract new fans and build brand loyalty in this digital space.

Discord is not just for gamers anymore. Retail brands are finding opportunities to attract new fans and build brand loyalty in this digital space. Picture this: a space where you can have direct chats with your favorite brands, helping design the curves of the next Porsche or influencing which Prada bag comes out next.It might sound wild, but that’s the power of Discord, the go-to spot for gamers to geek out over e-sports.

But it’s not just for gamers anymore. Businesses, especially luxury retailers, are implementing Discord strategies to engage their fans in exciting new ways. Retailers of all kinds should take note—the opportunities for connecting community to commerce and content with Discord are immense.

The Dawn of DiscordLaunched in 2015 without a specific audience in mind, Discord quickly became the hangout for gamers to chat and bond over their love of all things videogames, often while livestreaming videogames.Today, Discord is emerging as a versatile tool for savvy businesses, and a place where retailers can connect with Gen Z, who are “tired of being tracked, targeted, and retargeted,” according to an article by Qulture. “They want a private place away from the algorithms where they can be themselves, hang out with friends, and go deep on what they love.”Discord is all about servers—digital spaces where people with similar interests come together. Think of it as a mix of everything: instant messaging, audio calls, video calls, file-sharing, you name it.

You get to choose how you want to chat, and whether it’s in a public room or a more private setting.Without paid ads, Discord generates revenue from paid premium “Nitro” services that offer users additional functionality and customization options. In December 2023, they rolled out an in-app shop for all users to buy digital decorations for their profiles like flashy profile effects or animations that play over your avatar picture.Despite its clunky aesthetic, the platform has been adopted by fashion brands like AllSaints, Kenzo, RTFKT, StockX, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Prada—all thirsty for the lively community, authentic engagement, and access to a younger generation Discord offers.Brands like Gucci have even hired dedicated Discord moderators, who ensure customer experience with the brand is personal and top-notch. Brand moderators can deliver messages directly to fans, without having to rely on an algorithm or the hopes of going viral.“If I have 20,000 people on Discord, I can reach 20,000 people with a single post.

That doesn’t happen on Instagram, right? If you build a real community, you have direct access,” founder of resale site Basic.space Jesse Lee told Glossy. Discord’s Unique Position: An Opt-In ModelWhat sets Discord apart?

Besides being the hottest social platform for online gaming and e-sports, Discord is the fourth-largest video-game streaming platform, boasting an impressive 563 million registered users and 19 million active communities (servers). It’s currently valued at about $15 billion.Futurist and tech consultant Matt Maher told Retail TouchPoints that Discord is a “bellwether for what the future of digital is going to look like.” While it’s not as large as other social platforms and is completely decentralized, that is by design.There are no ads, and you usually can’t just hop on and follow any brand you fancy, unless the brand’s server is public. This gives brands an opportunity to allow exclusive access, inviting users to their Discord server in different ways, depending on how they plan to use their channels.Joining a Discord community is always a deliberate decision, not an accidental drop-in.

When marketing strategies like data collection, email blasts, and opting into text messages fail, brands can succeed by opening their chat servers to their audience for input, feedback, and real conversation. "People actively choose to be on Discord, it’s not just a random place you stumble upon. If you’re a client or a customer, how do you connect with the brand?

You can go on Twitter and @mention them, you can fill out a form on a dot.com, maybe there’s a chatbot, you can always do a phone call or direct email, but the reality is you’re putting a call out and hoping the brand will respond. But Discord is becoming an always-on communications platform." - Futurist Matt Maher NFTs Reward Brand LoyaltyCustomers of luxury goods are buying status when purchasing a Prada bag or Louis Vuitton suitcase. But how do brands ensure their customers achieve that same high status in digital spaces?Prada is providing digital clout to members of its Discord community, allowing users to showcase their status through the ownership of rare digital goods like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which represent a special status to Discord users.

Those users get a gold label next to their name and are bestowed a prestigious role within Prada’s Discord community.After a popular web3 collaboration with Adidas, Prada developed its Prada Timecapsule NFT Collection. It launched in 2019 and features monthly drops linked to both a limited-edition physical product and a gifted NFT for its fans.Similarly, to capitalize on the exclusive nature of NFTs, Louis Vuitton created two tiers of Discord chat channels. The first floor welcomes users without NFTs to the Louis Vuitton general chat and announcements.

The second floor is only for NFT holders and provides access to private conversations and content.Pierre-Nicolas Hurstel, CEO and co-founder of .arianee, told Retail TouchPoints that shoppers see their luxury NFTs as an investment and it’s up to brands to provide a return on that investment.“All the brands [currently entering this space] start with digital twins for the expensive products. But the more they understand, the more they are trying to use this as the new foundation of their relationship with clients,” he said. “What they are all trying to unlock is, ‘What can I do when I have a digital piece of value?