According to the study “Metaverse in Retail” by the Cologne-based EHI Retail Institute on behalf of EPAM Systems, the Metaverse will offer a multitude of new opportunities for retail in the future: For the 433 decision-makers surveyed from 284 companies in a wide variety of industries, who between June and July 2022 were surveyed online, the potential application scenarios range from three-dimensional product demonstrations to better brand perception through gamification.
“Retailers are open to entering the metaverse and have clear preferences as to which applications they would like to use later,” says Philipp Hübner, author of the study and project manager for the e-commerce research area at the EHI, in a statement.
Metaverse as a “link”
Most of the retailers surveyed (77.3 percent) would use virtual advice in the Metaverse. Three quarters (75.4 percent) would present their products in three dimensions and a clear majority (69.2 percent) would also advertise in virtual space. The trade also has a positive attitude towards an expansion of stationary shopping to include virtual experiences through VR glasses (67.9 percent).
For a majority, the Metaverse is a good addition to online shops: For more than 80 percent, it can “sensibly flank” online shops, but not replace them entirely; At 27.8 percent, just over a quarter think this. For a good half (52 percent) of those surveyed, the Metaverse could be imagined as an online marketplace. Several participants also see it as a “link” between the physical and virtual worlds.
Increase awareness and image
Almost 80 percent stated that their Metaverse presence enables merchants to pursue marketing goals such as higher brand awareness or a better image. About two thirds also believe in the realization of economic goals such as increased sales or cost savings.
More than half of those surveyed believe that the metaverse can also make ecological sense by saving resources. The majority of those surveyed also see the opportunity to open up new target groups and business areas. According to their assessments, new services in the metaverse could also be tested and developed in advance in a cost-efficient, low-risk and target group-safe manner, according to the study.
Dangers of the Metaverse
However, the metaverse can also harbor dangers: almost two-thirds of the retailers surveyed fear that they could get into a power struggle comparable to that with Google, Amazon and other companies as soon as a metaverse provider has established itself on the market. Some participants also expect social dangers such as the suffering of interpersonal relationships, the decline in social contacts and the alienation of people from the physical world through the artificial worlds.
The Metaverse topic will also be discussed at the EHI Connect on November 8th and 9th, 2022 in the World Conference Center in Bonn. In addition to lectures by various retail companies on concrete metaverse implementations, author Philipp Hübner will present the study.