What is the Metaverse?
The issue of the metaverse has gathered significant attention in recent years. As people’s interest in virtual worlds increases, business opportunities around them become infinite. The question at hand then is not whether we can make a virtual environment reminiscent of the real one, but rather: how far can we go? The metaverse is a pretty complex notion that can loosely be defined as “the concept of a highly immersive virtual world where people gather to socialize, play, and work.” The prefix ‘meta’ (meaning beyond or after in Greek) refers to the idea of transcending reality.
Apart from its evident popularity in pop culture through video games or cinema, the business world is now looking at it as a profitable investment opportunity. Moreover, it revolutionises the relationship and interaction of a company with its customers, improving the company’s consumer service. According to 71% of CEOs globally, the metaverse has a positive business impact on firms. Examples of this range from Facebook’s rebrand to Meta—signifying the company’s ambitions to develop into the metaverse—to Nike and Lego, which have announced similar plans for the near future.
The retail experience in the Metaverse
The metaverse allows for an interactive and immersive experience for those engaging with it, a feature that companies can take advantage of in a multitude of ways. Primarily, retailers can build virtual shops that enable a more immersive browsing and shopping experience for their customers. Additionally, companies may construct virtual worlds within the metaverse to allow users to test their products, thereby improving their existing marketing strategy.
The Vail Ski Resort in Colorado is a prime example of this. In order to increase the predictability of ski conditions and snowmaking infrastructure, the resort built a digital version of the mountain. Due to this, they have been able to offer visitors the optimal skiing conditions possible, satisfy the demand for early-season skiing and riding even in years with little snow, and thus increase revenue. Digital storefronts in the metaverse will be able to revolutionise the markets for products that are challenging to display in conventional retail conditions.
The immersive sense of social gatherings
The ability of technology to replicate the experience of social gatherings and working spaces also serves as an advantageous factor for businesses, especially those concerned with education, healthcare, entertainment, and real estate. Virtual classrooms and training programs are able to offer more immersive learning experiences and alter education for the better. Healthcare advice offered through the metaverse could benefit patients who are unable to visit a doctor. Moreover, by constructing digital worlds inspired by movies, TV shows, and video games, entertainment companies can allow fans of the franchises to experience their favourite media interactively or even market an upcoming release in a similar manner. Concerts and virtual music festivals are also a common occurrence in the metaverse as of now, with big names like Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X, and Marshmello front lining. Through virtual property tours, the world of real estate will be able to allow potential buyers to explore spaces, engage with them, and make more calculated decisions.
Opportunities for startups
Aside from marketing and branding opportunities for big companies, the metaverse is a space that allows startups to flourish as they work on products and features that aim to improve the metaverse experience. Various startup companies, for instance, have been investing in the development of avatar technology, from 2D to real-time AR that can convert an individual into a digital clone. Additionally, startups expanding on virtual fashion, ranging from high-end avatar attire to gaming skins to fashion NFTs, will be able to collaborate and assist firms looking to establish exclusivity online and generate new revenue streams from their products. Virtual gaming worlds can also be a rich terrain for platform developers and programmers to construct their forthcoming games.
Challenges of the virtual world
Despite the many advantages and revelations the metaverse brings to the business world, its flaws and challenges should not be overlooked. As VR and AR have recently become more integrated into our everyday lives the need for their usage regulation emerges. Regulations regarding privacy, security, and user experience are in need of refinement. With a significant number of metaverse users being underage, matters of data protection and safe navigation should be prioritised to ensure a user-safe environment for all ages. In addition to these crucial issues, technical difficulties like a lack of consistency and compatibility among the numerous metaverse platforms or not being very user-friendly at this stage should also be considered.
These concerns are far from theoretical, as many companies in the past have proven to be unstoppable, and the lengths they can go to maximase their profit are unpredictable. Europol warns law enforcement agencies to prepare for new, unconventional criminal incidents that can take place in the otherwise unregulated space of the multiverse. How companies use the data of metaverse users as well as the extent of the personal information they are able to access will be a gray area until the GDPR is appropriately updated. Until then, however, the access window for companies and other users to confidential information risks the danger of identity theft.
Additionally, the innovative nature of cryptocurrency combined with the loose framework of data security may result in augmented money-laundering. Finally, those two factors combined can break the wall between the metaverse and reality, as the acquisition of confidential information and currency that might lead back to the original possessor can put the real-world integrity of a user in danger.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, the metaverse represents the rebirth of technology in a more immersive form that becomes more and more reminiscent of the real world. Despite its challenges, it offers significant opportunities for businesses and markets of all kinds and sizes to expand, differentiate themselves, and discover new possible streams of revenue through creative marketing and branding projects. Technology is evolving with every passing day, indulging more people in virtual worlds and all that they have to offer. As Augmented Reality begins to blur with the actual one, the potential for the metaverse as a business opportunity will only continue to develop, and only time can tell where our creativity and ambition will take us.
Featured Cover Image: Unsplash
