Roblox, the online gaming platform and game creation system, has had a record year. The global community grew from 32.6 million to nearly 50 million daily active users across 180 countries, with the average daily active user visiting 40 unique experiences throughout 2021.
The fashion industry has also jumped on the bandwagon as users seek new experiences and novel ways to express their digital identity, and brands see it as a new revenue opportunity.
Companies like Gucci and Nike have been quick to create experiences with Roblox that can range from a music launch party to a fashion show hosted on the platform, such as The Fashion Awards.
The most popular event was the Gucci Garden, an interactive, virtual exhibition inspired by the Gucci Garden Archetypes. It is an immersive journey through a series of themed rooms, each a nod to Gucci’s advertising campaigns, design history and muses, designed by Alessandro Michele. There was even a boutique featuring limited-edition virtual items from the Florentine luxury house, designed by RookVanguard.
Almost two million users attended the British Fashion Council’s Fashion Awards event in November, where you could walk a digital red carpet as a VIP.
In Nikeland, users can outfit their avatars with Nike apparel and unlock their athletic superpowers that are not bound by the rules of physical games.
Fashion companies take advantage of the metaverse’s limitless possibilities for self-expression, body shapes, hair, accessories, and clothing in the Roblox Avatar Marketplace. Digital identity is important to the player community, according to Roblox, which can be seen in the variety and number of items created, purchased and worn on the platform.
Summary 2021
More than 25 million virtual products have been created in the Roblox Community.
More than 5.8 billion virtual products (free and paid) were purchased.
More than 165 billion avatar updates have been performed.
1 in 5 daily active users updated their avatar every day.
Most of the updates are for the body and face, followed by accessories.
The top five countries with the most Roblox developers include the United States, Brazil, Russia, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom. This is also reflected in engagement, where the UK has the third highest engagement time behind Brazil and the US.
Interestingly, the Roblox developer and creator community saw a 353 percent increase in female first-time users versus a 323 percent increase in male creators year over year.
As fashion companies look to leverage the Metaverse for new economic opportunities, there doesn’t appear to be any slowing down given the 25 million virtual items that have been created and the more than 5.8 billion virtual items that have been purchased.