We are witnessing how audience demands have made the words 'resilience', 'renewable', and 'technological' the best allies of companies and businesses across all walks of life, especially in the retail industry.
While e-commerce had already begun, the arrival of the online channels to the mainstream significantly accelerated this process and forced restaurants and retail stores to reinvent themselves and create new formats to survive. That's why it's said that the metaverse and retail are the new digital era.
The metaverse can be imagined as a digital world that exists alongside the real world, where we can navigate with a kind of avatar, meeting other people, shopping, playing, or even working.
The metaverse has been experienced by all those who have enjoyed and socialized in virtual worlds, such as online games like Roblox and Minecraft, among others. However, the new technologies and the billions invested in the metaverse by tech giants predict that we are right on the threshold of a new system of online work and life.
The Metaverse and Retail
Metaverse
The metaverse is known as a kind of collective, enduring, and parallel reality created by consolidating all virtual worlds into a single universe. This allows us to traverse higher levels of the Internet and media society. Moreover, the industry is expected to soon have a value of hundreds of billions of euros and also carries significant risks.
Retail
Surely you have heard the word "retail" many times in your daily life, mentioned by someone close to you or even by yourself. We will tell you the meaning of retail with an example. Originally, this term comes from marketing, but today it is actively used in various fields of human activity. It is often used in commerce and banking.
Understanding that the market is the most important part of any country's economy and that its integral components are the buying and selling of goods.
Rising Trends: The Metaverse and Retail
To date, the trend in the retail marketing sector is omnichannelity, meaning selling through all traditional and non-traditional channels. In that sense, personal or physical sales will not disappear. There are still many people who enjoy the experience of shopping in stores and seeing the product to ensure what they are acquiring.
All of this also depends on the product they want to buy, but it is important to consider that online sales have increased. Therefore, they have become very important for people, and many prefer to shop through social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
What is changing in the metaverse?
Given that the concept of the metaverse has existed for over 30 years, why is it now the time to shape it? How do things today differ from 30 years ago? Euromonitor found that 38% of consumers engaged in online gaming at least weekly last year, up from 29% in 2015. Sales of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets increased by 56% between 2017 and last year.
In 2019, based on a significant survey database, Google reported that 66% of people are interested in using AR when shopping. Shopify revealed that products that used 3D and AR (augmented reality) technology generated a 94% higher conversion rate than those that did not.
Why such a high rate? Because currently, these features have a novelty factor that seems to seduce consumers. Although enhanced e-commerce offerings are becoming more common, they are still in their infancy. Incorporating them now could provide a significant competitive advantage. Thus, Amazon and Etsy stores could become true gold mines where customers can interact with products in 3D and make seamless transactions thanks to the viability of blockchain technology. We are at the precise moment when brave and ambitious individuals plant a flag at the pinnacle of an emerging metaverse and retail industry. Metaverse startups will be among the Fortune 500 companies of tomorrow.
Consequently, it is at this moment when there are more opportunities, as the industry takes shape, not only for economic gain but also for brand building.
Support for large companies
It's clear that companies take the metaverse seriously today, with Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, and other prominent global companies leading the way.
That's why the official name change from Facebook Inc. to Meta (Facebook Metaverse) is so important. It's one thing to have Oculus headsets and dabble in the subject with some ongoing research and development in cyberspace. But it's another thing entirely to rebrand with the metaverse.
With technology, software, consumer brands, and major companies investing money and resources into the metaverse, it's only a matter of time before we start seeing the changes taking place.
Why should brands and marketing specialists be interested in this change?
The best brands never stop learning and exploring new opportunities in this field. When Stryve was founded, the concept of digital marketing and social media marketing was still in its infancy.
Many companies struggled to see the commercial potential of platforms like Facebook. However, just 13 years later, anyone not using any social media strategy is a dinosaur.
Therefore, constantly innovating and exploring future potential areas of growth can generate significant opportunities. Now is the time to ask yourself, is your brand ready for the change?
TO MAKE EVERYTHING WORK, MAINTENANCE IS THE KEY
Optima Retail: Experts in Retail Maintenance and Repairs Worldwide
Why should you be impatient to have a good maintenance plan?
Because predictive maintenance not only helps you keep your equipment running smoothly, but it also helps you save time and money. Who doesn't want that, right?
With predictive maintenance, you can monitor the status of your equipment in real-time and anticipate potential failures before they occur. This means less downtime, lower maintenance costs, and more efficient production. It's like having a superpower for your Retail!
Optima Retail: Experts in Retail Maintenance and Repairs Worldwide - Ensure worry-free support by providing you with a dedicated Facility Manager who will always be your contact.
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