One innovation that brands, retailers and consumers can hardly ignore is the Metaverse, i.e. a space in virtual reality in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users. More and more brands and retailers have discovered the Metaverse for themselves and are trying to attract their customers not only stationary and online, but also in virtual space. But how exactly do they benefit from it and how is it accepted? Two new studies are dedicated to this topic.
A study by the Capgemini Research Institute examined how immersive experiences and the metaverse improve customer experiences and business operations. It surveyed 8,000 consumers aged 18+ in 12 countries across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific in July and August 2022 about their AR/VR and other mobile/web-based immersive applications, including the Metaverse.
The institute also surveyed 1,000 companies across consumer goods, retail, discrete manufacturing, life sciences, media, telecom, banking and insurance industries to find out how companies are using these immersive technologies for their internal operations. This was complemented by in-depth interviews with industry leaders and technology partners, as well as a social listening study that included Google search analytics, social media analytics, and sentiment analysis and emotion detection.
“The results suggest that the much-vaunted immersive technologies have great potential that companies can capitalize on,” the study concludes.
This was also the result of the joint survey “Metaverse: (Un)known world?” by the market research institute Sinus and KPMG among more than 2,000 German citizens between the ages of 14 and 39. “For retailers and service providers of certain product groups and offers, the virtual world of the metaverse can represent a central sales market where younger target groups can be reached,” is the conclusion.
Companies value immersive experiences internally and externally
The Capgemini study found that companies expect that immersive experiences will not only become important for the interaction with customers, but also improve the work experience of their employees. 70 percent believe that immersive experiences and the metaverse will be important future applications to differentiate in the market, especially in terms of customer shopping experience.
Two-thirds of companies (66 percent) have already developed a roadmap for immersive experiences for the next one to two years. 15 percent want to establish an initial presence in the Metaverse within a year, and 45 percent believe this will become mainstream within three years. However, many companies are still taking a cautious approach.
“We’re beginning to see a more differentiated approach by companies to designing immersive experiences and specifically the metaverse. Initial interest in the Metaverse was fueled by investments from the big tech players. The actual challenges in relation to accessibility, security, interoperability and data protection, among other things, have not yet been sufficiently taken into account. Companies are now working intensively on this,” comments Sargon Korkis, Head of Digital Experience Services at Capgemini in Germany, in a statement.
“In the short term, immersive experiences can prove very effective, especially for internal use cases. But the potential of the Metaverse goes beyond the transformative: It brings about a humanistic renaissance in digitization and uses the virtual-spatial proximity of the so-called embodied Internet for this,” adds Korkis.
challenges for companies
In addition to external factors such as the lack of maturity of the technology or a lack of connectivity infrastructure, there are also a number of internal challenges for companies to be able to serve and expand consumer demand: “In particular, there is a lack of strategic planning: 40 percent of companies see immersive -Experience initiatives still seen as one-off projects, not as the first step in a series of continuous improvements. Almost two-thirds (62 percent) of companies say there is no management commitment to immersive experiences, and more than half (56 percent) have no clear roadmap for adopting such technology,” according to the Capgemini study.
Interviews conducted as part of the study revealed that companies have already successfully implemented various initiatives internally using immersive experiences and the Metaverse, such as digital prototyping in the automotive industry with VR design and construction reviews, training of medical professionals in the field of surgery and the Planning of retail space. In the latter case, the virtual viewing of an area allows the design of stores to be planned without teams having to be on site.
Consumers “fascinated” by the Metaverse
77 percent of consumers surveyed by Capgemini expect that immersive experiences will change the way they interact with people, brands and services. At 4 percent, only a small group of them is already metaverse-experienced, i.e. about 380 respondents in this study. However, three quarters of them said they are currently using the Metaverse and will continue to do so.
The study showed that consumers are generally fascinated by the possibilities of immersive experiences. They want to use the metaverse primarily as a place to interact with family and friends (43 percent) and with colleagues (39 percent). The brands they would most like to interact with in the Metaverse are primarily retail (78 percent) and consumer goods companies (77 percent). “This shows that consumers want to improve their shopping experience in particular for products with a high experiential value, such as cars, furniture and household electronics,” says Capgemini.
Shopping in the Metaverse conceivable
According to the KPMG study, around 50 percent of those surveyed are willing to buy physical products in the digital world: 61 percent could imagine buying clothes or shoes and 50 percent cosmetics, drugstore items or DIY supplies. 43 percent would be willing to buy groceries in the virtual world.
“The survey results show that both well-known and new brands have the opportunity to establish themselves in the Metaverse. Well-known brands have the advantage of a leap of faith. According to the information, two thirds of those surveyed pay particular attention to serious offers in the Metaverse. New brands, on the other hand, can specialize in digital and unique products. More than half of those surveyed estimate that they can also own very unusual products in the metaverse compared to reality,” explains Stephan Fetsch, partner and head of retail at KPMG, in a statement.
However, there is a gap between actual consumer spending and interest in the Metaverse: nearly 80 percent of respondents spent money on online purchases in the last year, but less than half can currently imagine making a Metaverse purchase. This holds great potential for trading.
“This difference of more than 30 percentage points harbors enormous potential for trading goods and services in the Metaverse against the background of the increasing popularity of the Metaverse – always provided that the right target groups are reached. In line with the hypothesis that each euro can only be spent once, the question arises here: will consumers be more likely to leave it in the online world or in the metaverse in the future?” says Colette Lala, Sector Manager Retail at KPMG.
challenge for consumers
As curious as consumers are about the Metaverse, concerns about the technology may dampen those concerns: harassment, personal safety, and privacy are the main concerns. That’s according to Capgemini’s social media analysis of more than 180,000 online conversations.
“For the Metaverse as a network of virtual worlds, security and ethical issues are important to create a sense of community that is critical to widespread adoption. Regardless of whether they are applications for customers or employees, companies must address these concerns before creating their virtual spaces. They should also find a way to moderate these spaces while balancing privacy and security concerns. So they need to start understanding the Metaverse today to avoid being left behind later,” Korkis concludes.