Bitcoin has been on quite a tear, and luxury brands are taking notice.
Printemps (think the Harrods of France) just became Europe’s first department store to accept cryptocurrency payments.
For product makers, this is bigger than digital currency — it’s about understanding how purchase friction evolves.
In I Need That, I discuss how our tank brain looks for trust signals before making purchases. For crypto-wealthy consumers, accepting their preferred payment method is a powerful signal that you understand their world.
LVMH (Tag Heuer, Hublot) and Kering (Gucci, Balenciaga) were early adopters.
Now S.T. Dupont is rushing to accept crypto in Paris stores before the holidays.
Virgin Voyages even offers a $120,000 annual cruise pass payable in Bitcoin.
For the rest of us, this highlights a key principle: reducing friction goes beyond intuitive shopping experiences; it means making the entire purchase journey feel tailored to your ideal customer.
Shopify now enables direct-to-consumer merchants to accept over 300 cryptocurrencies. While this might seem excessive, it reflects a reality: different customer segments have different comfort zones.
It also means you’ve got no excuse NOT to accept crypto. It’s as easy as any other payment method.
The crypto movement continues to gain momentum. President-elect Donald Trump, who once called cryptocurrency “dangerous,” recently declared his intention to be “the crypto president,” promising friendly digital currency regulations. That’s going to leave a mark.
Whether you’re bullish on Bitcoin or not, the trend toward digital payment options isn’t likely to reverse.
Action for you: Rank your customers’ preferred payment methods. (Don’t assume it’s one you already offer. It may be survey time!) Are you creating unnecessary friction by limiting options? The easier you make it to buy, the more likely your tank brain-approved product is to trigger an “I need that” response.
Laurier
P.S. Speaking of purchase friction, ever wonder why luxury brands were among the first to embrace crypto? When your customer has just made millions in Bitcoin, the last thing you want is for them to get derailed by payment friction when buying your $50,000 watch.