![]() “Some businesses are building digital spaces in these words in which they can connect with potential customers to showcase new and different products or services,” Touve said. Budweiser, Gucci, Autodesk, Benetton, Coca-Cola – the list of brands building consumer experiences in the metaverse goes on. The shoe brand Vans recently opened a virtual skatepark to connect with its customer base, while Chipotle launched a virtual restaurant where the first 30,000 visitors get a voucher for a real-world burrito. “The metaverse will accelerate the trend.”ĭarden professor Roshni Raveendhran says the potential health effects of wearing virtual- or augmented-reality headsets for extended periods can’t be overlooked. “On the retail side, companies already allow people to use VR and avatars to try out different products or clothes,” she said. In fact, JPMorgan believes the metaverse is a trillion-dollar annual revenue opportunity, pointing out that $54 billion in virtual goods are already sold every year.ĭarden professor Roshni Raveendhran does not think such predictions are fantasy, based on current usage levels. “There are a large number of digital commerce opportunities that have pretty attractive underlying economics,” Touve says, noting that investors are now considering VR headsets more seriously after decades of disappointment.īig-name consumer brands such as Nike and Forever 21 have created virtual world stores in a bid to increase their real-world income. Revenue also will be generated in the metaverse through virtual stores, in which users can buy digital goods that correspond with real-world items developed by consumer brands. Touve sees advertising as one way to monetize the metaverse: Meta has already patented multiple technologies with hyper-targeted advertising and sponsored content. The network effect can lead to winner-take-all markets.” Why Businesses Are Jumping In “The more people are on the network, the more valuable it is. “By creating the virtual worlds, you essentially set the rules for the virtual economy,” said Touve, who anticipates a land grab. In addition, Meta is launching an app for social networking in VR, called Horizon Home, which allows users to socialize as avatars while wearing headsets developed by Oculus, which Facebook acquired for $2 billion in 2014. In the next five years, the company plans to hire 10,000 new staff to work on metaverse projects, such as a wristband that allows users to interact with the virtual world through subtle finger movements. Meta is already spending billions per year on virtual and augmented reality as it competes with fellow internet titans such as Microsoft and Google to build a metaverse that captures the biggest network of users. Many more companies will soon be doing business in a virtual- or augmented-reality world, Darden professor Dave Touve says. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg changed his company’s name to Meta in October, reflecting its push to build the “next generation of the internet” beyond the smartphone. Who will collect the spoils and set the rules? Silicon Valley tech giants – particularly Meta (formerly Facebook) – are in pole position, according to David Touve, senior director of applied innovation and new ventures at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. In the next four years, Gartner predicts 30% of the organizations in the world will have products and services ready for the metaverse, across sectors from retail to gaming and entertainment. It’s what many are calling a transition from “web2” to “web3.” This emerging economy means organizations, having already adapted their activities for the internet era, will need to pivot again from a digital business to a metaverse business. This will create a virtual economy, enabled by digital currencies and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs – digital ownership certificates registered on a blockchain that can be traded for cryptocurrency. ![]() ![]() The metaverse will bring these activities into a single environment, allowing users seamless access to infinite destinations and experiences. At present, these experiences take place on separate platforms. By 2026, a quarter of the global population will spend at least an hour a day in the metaverse for work, education or play, according to research firm Gartner.Īlready, companies have built ways for users to pursue aspects of life in an alternative reality, from virtual-reality, or VR, gaming to attending business meetings, gaining education and even viewing real estate.
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