The Metaverse is a virtual universe where users can build their virtual communities, alternate realities, and avatars to use in social interactions, entertainment, and work. It’s the convergence of augmented reality in the real world and virtual reality online.
Almost everything we do in the real world can be replicated in the Metaverse, from buying land and real estate to building virtual homes, offices, and malls, holding virtual social gatherings, shopping, and attending virtual entertainment events. When immersed in the Metaverse, users can fully immerse themselves in a digital environment and lead a digital life.
In this article, we will cover the importance of Metaverse in the retail industry and the cost to setup Metaverse store.
My name is Almira Lopez; I act like a CMO and think like a boss. I’m a Metaverse marketing strategist, and this is the best place for you to learn about Metaverse and how to market it all. So if that sounds good to you, you’re excited?
So, let’s get started!
Market Overview Of Metaverse
- By 2030, the Metaverse market is expected to be worth $824.53 billion, growing at a CAGR of 39.1 percent, according to reports from PR News Wire.
- From $61.8 billion in 2022, the Metaverse market is expected to soar to a staggering $426.9 billion by 2027, as reported by Globe News Wire.
- Five hundred-plus businesses have begun developing their Metaverses.
- There are currently more than 470 million users across Metaverse systems.
Investing in the Metaverse
Numerous large technology firms are actively supporting and expanding the Metaverse. More and more people are starting to use it, which means more and more business is being conducted. You can do this in several ways, including using cryptocurrency to buy digital assets in the Metaverse or investing in the companies that are creating the underlying technology for the Metaverse. You can also open your store on the Metaverse.
It has been announced that Activision Blizzard will be acquired by Microsoft in the largest gaming deal ever for $68.7 billion. Since the growth of the Metaverse is largely driven by the demand for gaming and entertainment, signing this agreement is an investment in the future of the Metaverse.
Ultimate Benefits Of A Metaverse
By 2023, it will be clear that most people favor online communities and various technological means of communication, such as web conferencing. Metaverse is fresh air, bringing a wide range of practical features to a 3D virtual setting. Examining the benefits of Metaverse –
Remote Work: One of covid-19’s contributions is the expansion of remote work, which can be both convenient for employees and useful for companies. However, businesses encounter many challenges when utilizing a remote workforce. A Metaverse manager can set up a virtual workspace and communicate with employees.
Profitability: The recent media attention given to Metaverse has helped the platform gain new users. Metaverse users who hope to make a living in the virtual world will be relieved to learn of the platform’s potential. Due to its open-source nature, the ecosystem welcomes any contributions from its users.
Virtual Tour Experience: Everybody needs more time or money to travel to far-flung locales, but thanks to Metaverse’s adaptability, they can still experience a virtual tour of those places. In Metaverse, augmented and virtual reality technologies enable first-person virtual tours with enhanced visuals.
Online Gaming: Most online games in the Metaverse are now serverless and include a built-in economy that facilitates “play to earn” models. Users in Metaverse can buy, sell, and trade NFTs for virtual goods.
What Should Retail Look Like in the Metaverse?
Your website’s retail focus should not be its only goal in the Metaverse. Rather, the Metaverse is a place to experiment with cutting-edge tech and hunt for metaverse engagement tools that the competition needs to use. There will need to be some trial and error, which is always a gamble. It’s unclear how the Metaverse works yet. Therefore, you should take a cautious approach to trial and error. Pay close attention to providing as much immersion as possible in a meta store.
Think about who you’re writing for and what they might need or want. The members of Generation Z will be the first to adopt virtual reality and metaverse shopping. This is the first generation to have grown up with 3D video games and other forms of virtual reality. What information might your older customers need when thinking about your online shops? Do they wish they could shop online from the comfort of their own homes and still have complete faith in the items they buy? To solve this problem, augmented reality try-on apps exist. Do they hope to always be on the cutting edge of tech? Your business should demonstrate that to them. If you focus on improving your customer’s shopping experience, you’ll know exactly what to include in your metaverse shop.
Also Read: Virtual Shopping In The Metaverse: What Is It And How Will AI Make It Work
How to Start Your Virtual Store in the Metaverse?
The work involved in establishing an online shop is comparable to that of opening a physical location. The shop’s launch requires much time and effort from the initial investment in web real estate.
Buying the Virtual Space
Meta, Horizon Worlds, and Decentraland are just a few metaverse platforms where you can buy or rent a virtual space, much like how brands purchase or rent space in real-world shopping malls. You could also build your virtual world from scratch if you have the resources.
Choosing a Right Development Partner
The complex procedure begins with the acquisition of the property and continues through the selection of blockchain, crypto, the development of AR/VR venues, and more. As the Metaverse develops, complexity may increase. Without a competent technical expert team in the fields associated with the Metaverse, this could become a significant challenge. Without an in-house IT department, businesses must find a reliable partner in the form of a metaverse development firm.
Deciding on Blockchain Technology
Blockchain technology is used for all interactions within the Metaverse. Selecting the right blockchain is crucial, as it will determine the quality of service your online shop’s customers can expect. Decentralization, openness, and a large user base are all essential features.
Add Other Elements
After deciding on a location and a blockchain, your next step should be to concentrate on the design of your digital environment. In addition, you’ll need to design the 3D environment, the interior of your store, the products, or their digital twins. Moreover, you need to pay attention to the virtual world apps and other features that will bring your audience into your virtual world.
Possibilities like these are just reasons opening a virtual shop in the Metaverse is a good idea.
- Gen Z’s need for individualized attention
- Adds character and value to the brand
- A more satisfying interaction with customers
- To shop in one place using all available channels
- Effective advertising campaigns
- There is a phygital (physical + digital) presence in this medium.
- You can develop a strategy and transition into the Metaverse if you know where and when your target audience spends time in the Metaverse.
Countless well-known companies have already successfully established a presence in the digital realm, including Nike, Reebok, H&M, and many others.
How can the Metaverse Benefit Physical Retail Stores?
There has never been a time when people could only shop online or in a store. Many brick-and-mortar businesses also operate web-based shops for the convenience of their customers who live too far away to make regular trips to the store. Having a prominent online presence is great for business.
And if a Metaverse presence can provide all those advantages, why not have one? Opening a virtual storefront in the Metaverse allows customers who cannot visit your physical location to do so in comfort while still enjoying a satisfying shopping experience. Customers with limited time to shop can preview items on the meta platform, then decide whether or not to make the trip to the physical store to make a final purchase.
How to Market Products Between the Physical and Virtual Worlds
Ultimately, Metaverse marketing may decide that third factor. Advertising in the Metaverse can take on new dimensions. A presence in the Metaverse, whether a storefront or a collection of goods, can increase your brand’s exposure and drive customers to your brick-and-mortar location.
Customers in the expanding Metaverse will always look for fresh ways to engage with your company and its goods. Marketing strategies will need to evolve and become more creative to succeed. Some ways to do this include incorporating games into shopping or AI that can learn the preferences of each customer. Keeping abreast of the latest metaverse offerings and VR possibilities is essential.
Cost to Open Shop in Metaverse
In recent years, discussions about the possibility of a Metaverse have generated considerable interest and debate. Numerous corporations are thinking about its potential and investing in it.
As the most significant technological advance to date, its market value is expected to reach $800 billion by 2024.
We can no longer consider the Metaverse a mere concept. Since this virtual universe already exists, it can be accessed by anyone who wants to. The idea is familiar, but the way it is being implemented is novel and is always being refined.
To achieve a metaverse is to go above and beyond, to build a universe that is both expansive and realistic in its simulation of human interaction. Augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), the AR cloud, adaptive work procedures, head-mounted displays (HMDs), the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, and geospatial technologies are just some of the technologies that back up the Metaverse’s system.
While the technologies have improved over time, the infrastructure supporting them often overlaps with or is dependent on a previous generation’s capabilities. This makes it more difficult and complex to estimate the true cost. The price of creating the Metaverse can be broken down into several categories:
- Data and Infrastructure costs
- Hardware for AR/VR headsets
- Manpower
- Content
The cost to setup the metaverse store is could be anywhere from $45,000 to $150,000 or more, depending on several variables.
Also Read: How to Start eCommerce Business in Metaverse
Conclusion
The Metaverse has yet to progress to its full potential in evolution. Technologists are looking into new approaches and assessing existing technologies to develop ideas that will give the world more interesting and useful metaverse projects.
Some well-known examples of recent live metaverse projects include Axie Infinity, Sandbox, and Decentraland. The developers of these items employ significant metaverse technologies like blockchain, cryptography, and NFTs.
Top tech forecasters predict that in the not-too-distant future, the Metaverse will be given a technological boost that will allow for the development of a wide range of real-world use cases. As a result, the total amount spent developing the Metaverse will morph and change over time as various sectors of society learn more about and begin to make use of the technology.
