2022 Predictions Summed Up in One Word... METAVERSE.

Ok, so maybe not quite yet. Though I do believe that we'll get there sooner than we think. A large part of that (IMO) is due to Roblox' success and Facebook's name change to Meta — it got a lot of people paying attention to this thing called Metaverse. That said, there are a couple of predictions below that could perhaps be considered the beginnings of what will become the Metaverse.

Here's a list of 10 things I’d personally like to see happen in 2022:

1. Social commerce continues to grow, adopted by more users and brands — where latter starts integrating social commerce into overall revenue growth strategy in a more meaningful way. It will evolve though. Expect to see more Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and live streaming integrated into social shopping experiences, and cryptocurrency adopted as an alternative method of payment... and the likes of TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat will help us get there.?
2. TikTok continues to take centre stage, and its influence no longer disputed. More brands will include this platform as part of their overall social media strategy — content, creators and advertising. And yes, the brand will still influence your shopping decisions.?
3. Video evolves. Video content and how we engage with it will be different. Video is something that all social platforms are leaning into and making it a focus — and brands will do the same. What I hope to see more of though is live streaming content, virtual and augmented reality integrated into brand content and product discovery strategies that will enhance the experience for users.?
4. Brands will continue to experiment with NFTs, figuring out how NFTs can build on or compliment a brand’s approach to digital first, consumer-centric products and experiences.?
5. Brand will continue to work with influencers and creators as part of their overall digital marketing strategies. What will be interesting to see is if the partnerships will include more product collaborations, content that moves beyond regular video, and perhaps even a brand x creator NFT collaboration.?
6. Brands get serious about building a first party data strategy with the death of cookies just around the corner (this time, for real.) The brand that I believe is most ready for this is Amazon, who already had first party collected before it became mission critical. Consider how many customers subscribe to Prime, and with that not only make online purchases, but stream movies, listen to music and read audio books — all Amazon related. And, let's not forget about their physical store locations — current and planned (Fresh, pop-up, Books and Go) where user data is also collected. All this, and we haven’t even talked about the size of their email list. Another that I would say is in a good spot when it comes to fist party data is Loblaw, Joe Fresh, Superstore and Shoppers Drug Mart, connected by one loyalty program, Optimum.
7. Thrifting and wearing vintage becomes supper cool again. Secondhand shopping apps show no sign of slowing down... and I'm glad they're not.
8. Fashion will continue to experiment with virtual and augmented reality, NFTs, gaming... and continue to collaborate with the likes of Roblox (and related) as it figures out its place in the Metaverse. (This makes me giddy.)
9. We will see organizations building 'Metaverse teams' as they explore how they should and could participate, integrate it into their short and long term strategy, and what this will ultimately mean for the brand. For instance, what will product discovery and shopping look like? What could education / learning evolve to in the metaverse? How will brands and customers engage? What will advertising look like -- will it simply be another ad unit, or something very different? (I'm hoping for the latter.) The teams will most likely be a mix of experts in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), NFTs and blockchain, gaming, marketers and advertisers, UX designers, developers, social media experts, community and content managers, and more.?
10. You'll hear a lot more about web 3.0 — will this and metaverse be used interchangeably, or the latter replace web 3.0 all together? That is, similar to how social media is many times seen as web 2.0? Or, will what we call the metaverse (this connection of places, things and people) only be a part of what is and will be, web 3.0; where the latter incorporates other things like (new/evolved) social media, virtual and augmented reality, decentralization, blockchain, NFTs, beyond mobile and brining control back to users. Time will tell…?

Wishing you all the best in 2022! It’s going to be quite the year!?