The Metaverse is rapidly gaining traction both with consumers and enterprise alike; what is the technology, and how are retail businesses seeking to engage with it as early adopters?
Source: BBC
What is the Metaverse?
The ‘Metaverse’ is certainly a hot topic at present, driving increasing press coverage and even leading to Facebook’s parent company rebranding as ‘Meta’. The Metaverse itself is a place where digital and physical worlds combine, “generally it refers to shared virtual world environments which people can access via the internet. The term can refer to digital spaces which are made more lifelike using virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR)”[i] The Metaverse also has further implications, translating to a digital economy: “where users can create, buy, and sell goods. In the more idealistic visions of the metaverse, it's interoperable, allowing you to take virtual items like clothes or cars from one platform to another. In the real world, you can buy a shirt from the mall and then wear it to a movie theatre. Right now, most platforms have virtual identities, avatars, and inventories that are tied to just one platform, but a metaverse might allow you to create a persona that you can take everywhere as easily as you can copy your profile picture from one social network to another.”[ii]
Big-name retail brands state their intent
With the buzz created around metaverse, especially following the recent Consumer Electronics Show held at the Beginning of January, several large brands and corporations are showing their intent to join the concept, as brands rush to secure their digital IP and stay ahead of the curve. We already saw Nike file trademark applications in November 2021, which previewed its plans to sell virtual branded shoes and sportswear. This was later followed by an announcement that Nike would work with the video game Roblox to create an online world dubbed ‘Nikeland’.
A further notable brand seeking a part in the Metaverse is supermarket giant Walmart. The company has recently filed for a number of new trademarks which indicate its desire to make and sell virtual goods “including electronics, home decorations, toys, sporting goods and personal care products. In a separate filing, the company said it would offer users a virtual currency, as well as NFTs (Non-fungible tokens).”[iii]
With the potential for digital avatars and the use of digital currency online, it is understandable why major brands will be eager to carve out their own area in the metaverse, becoming the retail giants of the digital world, as well as the physical. The recent popularity of NFTs will provide businesses with confidence that demand for digital goods exists, for example Twitter's founder Jack Dorsey promoted an NFT of the first-ever tweet, with bids hitting $2.5m according to the BBC[iv].
A further benefit is that the technology sits on the blockchain, allowing for tracking and secure ownership, alleviating concerns around plagiarism and piracy.
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