High-end fashion house Gucci to begin accepting cryptocurrencies as payment

The luxury fashion retailer is sending shockwaves through the retail industry by introducing a new method of payment.

Luxury fashion lovers will soon be able to shop in Gucci stores with cryptocurrency.

By the end of May, the luxury fashion house will accept payment through bitcoin, bitcoin cash, dogecoin, ethereum, five stablecoins attached to the US dollar, litecoin, shiba inu and wrapped bitcoin in five US stores as part of a pilot.

Gucci is introducing the pilot into five of its stores in the United States of America. Picture: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The five outlets included in the pilot are located in Atlanta (Phipps Plaza), Las Vegas (The Shops at Crystals), Los Angeles (Rodeo Drive), Miami (Design District) and New York City (Wooster Street).

Gucci intends to extend this pilot program to all of its North American stores by winter 2022.

The announcement comes as the retailer seeks to tap into the younger market and establish trust with those who have taken to buying, selling and holding digital currencies.

KIEV, UKRAINE - 2021/03/06: A young woman poses for a photo in front of Gucci logo, of a luxury fashion house, outside a Gucci brand store. (Photo by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“Gucci is always looking to embrace new technologies when they can provide an enhanced experience for our customers,” Gucci President and Chief Executive Officer Marco Bizzarri told Vogue Business.

“Now that we are able to integrate cryptocurrencies within our payment system, it is a natural evolution for those customers who would like to have this option available to them”, he added.

Customers who choose to pay with cryptocurrencies will receive a QR code by email that will allow them to pay with their digital wallets.