How Will the Metaverse Reshape the Retail Industry?

Facebook made a stunning revelation in October 2021. Facebook Inc., the parent firm, announced plans to rebrand itself as Meta Platforms. This rebranding is a component of the company's transition to a new internet-based business model.

The metaverse isn't a brand-new concept. The term was first used by Neal Stephenson in his iconic 1992 cyberpunk novel, Snow Crash. The idea has become ingrained in the canon of science fiction, and it may be found in a wide variety of works, from movies like ‘The Matrix’ to ‘Ready Player One

Facebook has been preparing for this change for some time. It purchased Oculus VR, a developer of virtual reality headsets, over ten years ago. Over the course of the past year, the corporation has invested an estimated $10 billion into metaverse-related technologies.

Plus, it's not just one business that's on board. Microsoft acquired video game giant, Activision Blizzard, in 2022 for $68.7 billion so that it could create "the foundations for the metaverse."

By 2029, experts are predicting that the global metaverse market will be worth $1525.55 billion, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 44.1%. Some see this as evidence that the next technological revolution will be even more momentous than the one that brought us the internet. Just like the internet, the metaverse will have far-reaching effects while being entirely unexpected by everyone outside of a small Silicon Valley clique.

Understanding the metaverse

The metaverse is characterized by interoperability. While it's true that, in the current digital landscape, we can purchase products in certain games and participate in online events, these activities are still distinct from one another. When we link all of these things together, we get a result that is unique from the web as we know it today.

Since the metaverse is so vast, defining it precisely can be challenging. However, most experts in the field of IT agree that it is a massive network in which users, through their digital representations known as "avatars," engage in social and professional interactions, trade currencies, attend colleges, perform jobs and travel to different locations all over the world.

It's possible that as the metaverse expands, it will give rise to online environments where users engage in activities that go beyond the capabilities of existing technologies. To put it simply: In the metaverse, people will be able to do more than just consume digital information; they will be immersed in an environment where the virtual and the real meet.

Top 4 business opportunities in metaverse

1. On-demand virtual events

As the world returns to normalcy, virtual events are thriving as the future of retail, with the metaverse at its core. Metaverse events, unlike in-person events, aren’t limited to a single location. Anyone from anywhere in the world can take part in this event; all they need is an internet connection.

Metaverse events include a number of features that enable the creation of a highly immersive experience. Many of online platforms now able to host a virtual event (party) and people from globe can join party in the form of AVATAR.

2. Virtual classrooms

Making a living by instructing others in the metaverse is another viable option. Online courses with an emphasis on business training are rising in popularity, and this trend is expected to continue.

AR technology enables the creation of a digital surface over real-world objects, providing new levels of experience in education. You can imagine the various applications of the metaverse through the use of augmented reality in this industry.

3. Phygital (physical + digital) medium

Retailers can create a combined channel to integrate and create a sales medium between the digital and physical world. It’s like adapted digital twin technology; retailers can have a completely virtual product collection, and the same physical product can be delivered easily whenever a product is sold.

4. Virtual shopping

With the metaverse not yet fully developed, many businesses are looking to establish themselves ahead of their competition. For example, Nike has built a virtual space called NIKELAND on Roblox. Through NIKELAND, users can easily interact with the brand, its culture and its community. To fuel this, Nike has applied for trademarks for virtual apparel and sneakers – which will all be sold through NIKELAND and other metaverse mediums.

How does metaverse affect the retail sector?

Due to the limitations imposed by our screens, online shopping often lacks the same tangible quality that customers experience in physical stores. Many shoppers still prefer to visit physical stores even if they know online shopping will continue to grow in the coming years.

Of course, the ease of virtual buying is a major draw for many consumers, so it only makes sense that stores would improve their ability to match shoppers' demands by fusing in-store and online shopping experiences.

In the metaverse, people may interact with things they're interested in buying in real-time using their own unique virtual avatar, so they get the best of both worlds. If a business sets up shop in the metaverse, customers can go inside, look at the merchandise, talk to other persons, learn more about the items and then actually buy them.

Brands can benefit from molding the metaverse

Brands that cater to consumers have more to gain than just a financial opportunity from the metaverse's all-encompassing setting, but there’s a delicate risk-reward balancing act that each brand must perform to succeed.

Customers are getting used to the idea of metaverse for retail, thanks to the rise of social media and other technologies like virtual worlds, augmented reality filters, immersive experiences and real-time information.

The fact that the average person can only focus for 8 seconds means that businesses must re-evaluate their methods of client engagement and product promotion. In order to be successful in the metaverse, most brands will have to abandon their standard marketing approaches.

In the metaverse, customers are looking for more than just a logo on a t-shirt, and that means brands need to go beyond simple sponsorship to attract their attention. For brands to provide genuine, non-intrusive value to their customers, they will need to significantly increase their live, in-the-moment presence.

Acknowledging the potential of online shopping in the future of the metaverse

Let’s look at how the metaverse is powering up the online shopping trends by giving more comprehensive and real time experience.

Actually, the groundwork for online shopping in the metaverse has been laid for some years. Of course, before the advent of online shopping, there were physical shops where people could browse and buy goods.

The acceleration in growth of online shopping in the metaverse after the pandemic has helped bridge the gap between the real and virtual worlds. It blends the convenience of online shopping with the experience of a traditional store, making for a hybrid experience that’s both more convenient and immersive.

In 2017, Walmart introduced a prototype of its metaverse shopping experience. Although Walmart's prototype is still in its early stages, the company has begun integrating AI and VR into its digital store in an effort to enhance the shopping experience for its customers.

By acquiring Zeekit in 2021, Walmart hopes to provide a more interactive and sociable online shopping experience for its customers. A customer may use the functionality to get a sense of how different goods would look on them and how well they would fit by virtually trying them on.

More recently, Walmart has started making preparations to ensure its position as a future leader in ecommerce in the metaverse by launching a curated VR shopping experience that fully supports cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

Forbes reports that Walmart is developing its virtual currency and has filed a trademark registration to manufacture and sell digital versions of its existing assortment of consumer electronics, home goods, toys and toiletries, among other things.

The metaverse will boost the retail industry

Instead of affecting brick-and-mortar businesses, the advent of the metaverse will open up new markets for retailers across all industries, leading to over a trillion dollars in sales per year. What this means is that malls can no longer be judged solely by the number of people who physically enter and exit them.

We believe that metaverse will have a greater positive effect on retail in the future, which will see the convergence of physical and digital elements to create a multi-sensory, emotionally engaging shopping experience that gives shoppers what they want.

Bring your organization into the future with metaverse

Retailers such as Alibaba have started to offer their customers the option of doing transactions in a purely digital environment. Using VR headgear linked with their smartphones, consumers can tour a virtual store resembling that of any physical retailer. It's a wonderful strategy for businesses to offer something special to their customers, which will hopefully encourage them to continue shopping on company websites.

Brands need to make emotionally engaging retail experiences a priority as the world becomes increasingly digital. Creating an immersive environment in the metaverse requires the use of visual and auditory cues. It may appear to be a huge undertaking at first, but it's actually nothing that hasn't been attempted before.