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The metaverse is the recent technological upsurge foreseen to shake the world and build a solid digital lifestyle for the common people. It is also believed that the metaverse is the future of social commerce, and businesses are keenly building their existence in the meta worlds.
Brands are instantaneously strategising new marketing campaigns to provide an omnichannel shopping experience to their audiences. They believe that the metaverse will create a perfect fusion of virtual and physical reality, and businesses can leverage it to provide the best immersive shopping experience.
Though the metaverse is still in its nascent stage, studies show that by 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse for work, shopping, education, social media or entertainment. This article will take you through the importance of metaverse in the retail industry and its enhanced shopping experience.
Metaverse: the future of retail
Today's businesses are building their omnichannel presence to give their audience a better shopping experience. They give equal importance to building their offline and online channels and strategies to blend them.
While the physical stores and merchant websites are here to stay, the virtual reality-based meta stores will be the next big thing. In fact, it is expected that in the near future, meta shops will be people's go-to places for shopping, where they will have their digital twins or their virtual avatars and be able to visit shopping arcades, see the products, enquire the product information, try products, interact with the brands, place order, pay through the cryptocurrencies or real currencies. And the product will be delivered to their real-world address. The brands will also have exclusive virtual products designed for digital avatars, which people can shop for and doll up their avatars.
With the metaverse, any retail segment, be it apparel, decor, FMCG, fashion, beauty or accessories, would be able to engage with its audience more conveniently, letting them try and shop in the comfort of their homes.
The metaverse is the best tool for aligning customer needs and desires. The omnichannel presence and engagement strategies will have higher consumer retention. The ability to buy a product after seeing an advertisement on a billboard, followed by gathering more information from merchant websites, checking the reviews on social media, and placing the order from an eCommerce marketplace would be genuinely liberating for a customer. With the metaverse, customers can virtually try on the products and buy them just by sitting on their couch in their living room.
Imagine living in some off-beat city side in India, and you have the potential to check and buy products from global brands after trying or testing them virtually. With your avatar, you can check NIKE LAND and try and buy Nike's exclusive meta apparel and shoe collections. Be it test driving a car, mirroring houses and offices, checking on interior decors, or trying out accessories; your virtual avatar will have the potential to do anything for you.
Metaverse: A better customer shopping experience
1) Deep personalisation of shopping experience
Metaverse allows a high level of personalisation of customer experience. Brands in their metaverse stores allow customers to choose their avatar based on gender, colour, age and other personal preferences. And with the avatars, they can potentially explore the virtual world, participate in community activities and engage with fellow avatars. It will make the customers express themself and spend time in a way they want to. Businesses with AI can track the interests of their customers and provide personalised recommendations, allow easy customisations and offer a tailored service. It helps brands develop a customer-centric approach and enhance the customers' shopping experience, ultimately helping gain customer loyalty.
2) Shop beyond the space and time
As said before, the metaverse will erase the geographical constraints and make every business reach a global level. Customers can be in any part of the world, be at work time break, struck in traffic or chilling on vacation; once they enter the virtual worlds, they will have the power to explore them, switch between the virtual brands, and seamlessly be a part of it.
3) building community engagement
The metaverse is also seen as a new form of social media, so businesses can build their communities and keep engaging with them. They can create games, produce immersive content or host outreach with experts and meta influencers. They can use this space to organise events and promote and advertise their product and services. Building a community and engaging with them for branding in meta worlds is essential.
Summing up
With metaverse emerging as the future of the retail industry, it will enhance and provide a more unified shopping experience to the customers. It helps businesses strategise a strong omnichannel shopping network and gain customer attention whenever possible. It will empower the customers to shop seamlessly, maintain data control, and build emotionally positive experiences.
Altyug, a metaverse platform with endless possibilities, offers everything you need to establish a highly immersive, engaging and memorable metaverse presence in the virtual universe, which includes a 3D virtual venue, virtual showroom, an auditorium, shopping booths, game center, limitless event rooms, real-time communication features like messaging and calling, and much more.
