The World of the Metaverse: Top Trends for Retail
Andrew Mazur
Senior Business Development Manager @ DataArt | Driving Technology Transformation
The metaverse – a virtual reality that allows people to create individual digital avatars and participate in various activities such as shopping and socializing – is gaining popularity. More and more companies are developing their metaverse products, including industry leaders, such as Amazon, Gucci, and Roblox. Creators, brands, enterprises, and consumers produce, buy, and sell virtual real estate, art, and other assets there.
The metaverse can also be used for education, speeding up onboarding for new employees, virtual events, and corporate meetings. It is also a great way to test out innovations digitally before releasing them in the physical world. You can replicate a real object in the metaverse by creating a digital twin. For instance, if you are working on a virtual warehouse management system, you can develop the warehouse’s virtual topography with the digital twin to test the solution before implementing it in the real world.
If you want to be among the first creators of this new virtual reality, it is critical to get on this trend and start developing your business in this direction.
However, there is no clear definition of what the metaverse entails, what technologies are used to build it, or how to attract users. In addition, there are several restrictions, questions, and answers that need to be pondered:
Let’s take a closer look at the metaverse.
Why Do Companies Invest in the Metaverse?
Many companies are actively using and monetizing metaverse technology to build and promote their brands. It is a good way to connect with new audiences while increasing revenue. Coca-Cola recently used Fortnite, an online game, to announce the release of its new limited-edition flavor. Volkswagen?created ?an NFT collection to launch the latest model of the Polo. Samsung?advertised ?its new phone on virtual billboards in an online game. All of these companies used metaverse campaigns to diversify the user experience and attract more users, generating interest in their products. Brands use this gamification to make online shopping more engaging. Amazon developed its?AR View tool ?that lets customers decorate virtual homes in the metaverse and try out designs virtually before making a purchase. The company’s other metaverse feature,?Amazon Showroom , has achieved a similar effect by allowing shoppers preview furniture in a digital environment. Walmart recently?announced ?plans to acquire Zeekit, a virtual fitting room platform.
The metaverse can also be used to develop loyalty marketing programs. A 2022 study by Obsess, an e-commerce platform,?found ?that 70% of all online store shoppers made a purchase; and many said they would purchase again. Companies use the metaverse to build community and release NFT collections, which can be used to offer perks to members. Clinique, a cosmetics and skincare company,?held ?an NFT giveaway to members of its Smart Rewards loyalty program.
Some companies even use the metaverse for remote collaboration and hold meetings there. For example,?Pixel Max , a startup that designs virtual workplaces, is working on solutions to bring teams together and increase employees’ well-being.
Virtual reality also presents many opportunities for education and entertainment. Roblox, an online game platform, introduced?online classrooms ?that function as servers where teachers can interact with their students using metaverse technology. And this is one of many examples. You can hold virtual concerts and engage with fans, offering immersive experiences to millions worldwide. A good example is the NBA, which recently?launched ?an NFT collection.
Metaverse for Digital Marketing & Advertising
The most obvious way to advertise in the metaverse is a traditional banner advertisement or logo placement. The main advantage of this approach is that these ads can be targeted to metaverse users who may enjoy that specific brand. The data that informs those decisions can be collected using social networks or other big data sources. These ads can also be sound or video-based and broadcast during the user’s time in the metaverse.
These logos and banners can be used as a part of in-game advertising campaigns. Vodafone, a telecommunications company, recently ran a campaign in the racing game Trackmania. Vodafone measured how the ads performed and saw a 176% lift in campaign awareness for those exposed to it. The impressive results proved that this kind of advertising increases brand awareness and boosts sales dramatically.
Top Companies Developing Metaverse Projects
According to?analyticsinsight.net , the?top 10?companies developing metaverse projects in 2022 are Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Roblox Corporation, Epic Games, Apple, Decentraland, NVIDIA, Unity Software, Snapchat, and Amazon.
Meta is so far the leader in metaverse products. Using NVIDIA technology, it is working on a new AI supercomputer that can sustain real-time speech recognition. These developments will be important for the AI-driven metaverse. NVIDIA is also working on its own metaverse-related product, a virtual collaboration platform called the Omniverse. The company recently began to distribute free copies of the program.
Retailers are working on many other metaverse projects. Here are some of them.
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Fashion Brands in the Metaverse
Nike?acquired RTFKT to “deliver next-generation collectibles that merge culture and gaming.” Using augmented reality and blockchain technology, RTFKT creates NFT sneakers and other digital collectibles. Nike created its own platform on Roblox called?Nikeland. This virtual gaming arena was inspired by the company’s headquarters in Beaverton and includes a virtual world with mini-games. Users can dress up their avatars in a digital showroom with Nike-branded apparel.
H&M?launched Loop Island on Animal Crossing, a popular video game named after their garment recycling machine, with Maisie Williams (the star of?Game of Thrones) as the face of the project.
Adidas?sold more than $22 million worth of NFTs for its?Into the Metaverse?project. NFT holders were able to purchase items during special merch drops. The brand also collaborated with?Prada?for Adidas for Prada Re-Source, a project where users can register and submit images which, if selected, are turned into NFTs. All the images are then combined into one big NFT artwork, which Adidas and Prada will auction on an online marketplace.
Tommy Hilfiger?participated in?Metaverse Fashion Week by Decentraland, highlighting its spring 2022 collection and hosting a digital retail platform where consumers could shop for NFTs for their avatars or purchase physical items. The event's visitors were able to teleport their avatars to the brand's virtual store and shop a select range of limited-edition products.
Zara?launched its own metaverse project in collaboration with the South Korean label?Ader Error, called the AZ Collection. The collection features a range of items, from jackets and knitwear to sunglasses and backpacks, and is meant to represent a consumer that lives in both virtual and physical realities.
Supermarkets and Department Stores
The French retail giant,?Carrefour,?is getting into the metaverse and buying a virtual plot in?The Sandbox , a blockchain game. Carrefour has acquired an area equivalent to 30 supermarkets in the metaverse.
Selfridges, a London-based luxury department store, teamed up with Foundation Vasarely and?Paco Rabanne?to launch a virtual shop in Decentraland with art exhibitions and an NFT collection.
Food, Drinks, and Restaurants
Burger King?launched its Keep It Real Meals. Once scanned, the QR codes on meal boxes unlocked digital collectibles and bonus NFTs.
Yum! Brands, the owner of?Taco Bell,?Pizza Hut,?and KFC, has filed multiple trademark applications for NFTs and metaverse products and services.?KFC’s applications include virtual foods and drinks, NFTs and NFT-backed multimedia, online stores featuring virtual goods, and virtual restaurants with “actual and virtual goods.”
Coca-Cola?made its digital asset debut with four NFTs auctioned as a single “loot box,” created by Utah-based startup?Tafi.
Beauty Brands and FMCG
Givenchy, Gucci, and Nars Cosmetics?were among the first to market their brands in the metaverse through a partnership with Nintendo’s Animal Crossing game.
P&G Beauty?entered the metaverse with a virtual storytelling world called BeautySphere. P&G’s SK-II built SK-II City, a hyper-realistic world inspired by Tokyo’s hyper-urbanity and the SimCity game.
Final Words
The digital world of the metaverse can be used for entertainment, practical purposes such as education, meetings, and events, and proof-of-concept presentations, as well as help brands develop their monetization models and deeply engage their customers. The metaverse promises to be one of the biggest trends in e-commerce, and many businesses are already seeking how to implement it in their strategy.
If you want to start your metaverse journey, contact us at?[email protected] ?to discuss your company’s approach. To learn more, check out our?offerings ?in Retail & Distribution.
Originally published here .