[The Sports Business Journal story below about a new immersive online merchandise store intended to evoke spatial and social presence, builds on the contents of a press release available from Globe Newswire as well as the Infinity Reality website; the press release includes this:

“’Sports fans today crave deeper connections with their favorite clubs beyond traditional media,’ said Sam Huber, CEO of MENA and Global President of Enterprise at Infinite Reality. ‘Benfica is redefining the online fan experience—combining immersive 3D environments, seamless commerce, and AI-powered personalization to deliver engagement at global scale. This model allows any team, club, athlete, or major sporting event to meet fans where they are and elevate fandom beyond the field through interactive, gamified experiences.’

Fans can explore this experience on Benfica’s current website, no additional download or special headset required. Key features include:

• Agentic AI Shopping Concierge: A smart AI agent that helps fans explore the site using voice commands, available in multiple languages
• Interactive 3D Merchandise Store: A virtual locker room showcasing team merch – directly integrated into Benfica’s existing store
• FIFA Club World Cup Content: Behind-the-scenes content from Benfica’s historic journey in the tournament
• User-Friendly Navigation: Intuitive design with seamless scrolling, so fans of all tech levels can explore easily”

The public’s response to the new store may offer valuable insights about how to best incorporate presence in online shopping experiences. –Matthew]

Infinite Reality launches immersive merchandise store for SL Benfica

By Rob Schaefer
June 11, 2025

Infinite Reality (iR) has deployed 3D modeling and artificial intelligence services under its iR Enterprise Solutions umbrella to develop an immersive merchandise store for Portuguese soccer club, SL Benfica.

The store, which is live today, manifests as a virtual locker room where visitors can scroll three-dimensional renderings of team apparel and other accessories, then purchase them in real life. The experience also includes an AI agent that responds to voice prompts with shopping recommendations in multiple languages.

Samuel Huber, iR’s CEO/MENA and Global President/Enterprise Solutions, called the project an industry first because, while SL Benfica’s existing merchandise landing pages exist on the team’s website as of now, the two sides’ eventual plan is for the immersive store to replace it.

“It’s still pretty new technology, so of course you have to have a period of time where you ensure the transition,” Huber said. “But it’s a very clear goal from both parties that this is the way that shopping should be done in the future.”

The immersive store eschews open-world navigation to simplify the experience for users. It also includes a dropdown menu that resembles a more traditional, two-dimensional e-shopping interface for users who prefer that to the immersive option.

“What we’re trying to do here is to not add any level of complexity,” Huber said. “The navigation is literally just scrolling… This is a way to make sure we don’t alienate people. Most people, obviously, are used to a search bar. They’re not used to navigating a 3D environment.”

iR has embarked on a more than $1B spree of acquisitions in the past year and a half, several of which came into play for this project:

• Huber is the former founder and CEO of Landvault, an XR/AI developer iR purchased last year for $450M and made its enterprise solutions vertical.
• The gaming engine underpinning the 3D elements of the SL Benfica store comes from virtual experience platform Obsess, which iR acquired this January.
• The AI powering the agent derives from agentic AI company Touchcast, which iR acquired for $500M in April.

Future iterations of the SL Benfica store could include a try-on feature, either via 3D avatars or augmented reality, Huber said. The reason the company is betting on the format, also according to Huber, is because of its potential to resonate with younger demographics and reduce drop rates through the use of AI.

“Most of these sites have huge drop rates. The conversion rate is generally single digit,” he said. “If you can convert a few more percent of people, that can be huge business. And I think having someone that you can have a conversation with — where you’re not just presented with, ‘This is Product A, Product B,’ but the [AI] agent asks you, ‘Who are you buying this for? Is this for you? Are you a fan of the club yourself? Who’s your favorite player?’ — you can navigate the sale in a way that is a lot more natural and eventually lead to better results.”

The SL Benfica project represents iR’s first time building a sports-focused immersive store of this kind, so Huber said he is eager to track performance metrics as users explore the format.

“I’ve been in immersive [technology] since the first days of VR and then through the metaverse era as well. There’s been a lot of things that even we did that didn’t really have much utility,” he said. “This is honestly the first immersive experience that not only have we built, but we have seen in the world, that is really focused on driving utility.”