Snap trials NFT filters as tech firm fights for Gen Z attention
Snap may be on the verge of non-fungible token filters as the tech company continues to battle its rivals.
According to reports from the Financial Times, the team are trialling a function that would allow artists to showcase NFT designs, adding to Snap’s wider push into user interactive settings.
Sources told the paper that the Snap team are planning to test the feature more widely in the coming month.
The company has been at odds with the likes of TikTok as it tries to capture the attention of Gen Z and millennials.
Snapchat estimates that it will have 493.7 million users worldwide in 2022, while TikTok’s users far exceed one billion.
In an interview with CityAM earlier this year, Snap’s UK general manager Ed Couchman said that the firm was going full steam ahead with its augmented reality (AR) offering.
Since January last year, more than 250m Snapchatters have engaged with the company’s AR shopping ‘Lenses’ feature, which essentially allows users to ‘scan’ the world around them to shop and play.
The offering varies from scanning a dog to find out what breed it is, to scanning a product you want to buy on Amazon.
From a partnership perspective, Snap has also been developing brand relationships to build augmented reality shopping experiences.
Makeup giants MAC and Estee Lauder have already bought into Snapchat’s tech, allowing users to try on products virtually and ordering a seamless process end-to-end.
Commercially, this is lucrative for both Snap and brand partners, driving more users to the app and cashing in on whimsical try-ons that turn into purchases.
Snap have been contacted about NFT offerings.