Gucci is the first luxury brand in Italy to join the Google Business Photos, which allows customers to explore a store space from the comfort of their own home.
Google Maps can be extremely useful for a rushed fashionista trying to find her (or his) way to a store.
If you've ever fancied taking things a step further, and enjoying a Google Street View tour around one of your favorite luxury boutiques, then you're in luck: Google and Gucci have teamed up to bring window shopping to a whole new level.
Google Maps users can now travel from the street into and through the menswear boutique in the Brera area of Milan. The store, which opened in June this year, is the first-ever Gucci flagship dedicated to men.
The Google Business Photos project essentially works like an indoor version of the Californian tech giant's Street View feature, which allows you to navigate through the environment via immersive street level photography, stitched together into a seamless digital environment.
Last month Google offered fans of TV science-fiction show "Dr Who" a look inside the character's famous Tardis transportation device and the company has a dedicated site for businesses wishing to welcome the street view cameras inside their buildings, packed with examples of other stores, restaurants and hotels. They are ready to navigate either via a browser or using the iOS and Android Google Maps apps. It's an especially useful feature for disabled users who might want to check in advance for steps or blocked access routes.
So will we see more luxury brands open their doors to tech tours, or will they want to keep their plushest retail environments sacred for their customers?
