Metaverse store: the next step for e-commerce businesses

Since the invention of the world wide web, commerce and business have evolved splendidly. From producing, targeting, and selling the product to the target audience within a defined geographical boundary to reaching brand awareness to a global audience and selling the products to every part of the world, e-commerce has empowered business owners significantly. 

People also interestingly adapted to e-commerce as they don't need to go in search of products; instead, they can buy all the necessities in the comfort of their homes. 

Metaverse is a recent technological innovation known as web 3.0 that is attracting the e-commerce industry to enter the virtual world. Metaverse is seen as the advancements of e-commerce and social commerce trends, where people can connect with fellow people, shop, work, or have fun.

This article will take you through how metaverse attracts businesses and what businesses need to do now.

How does a metaverse store work?

Many Metaverse platforms like Altyug, Decentraland, Sandbox, and many more are available in the market. You can select the metaverse platforms which align with your needs and requirements and buy or rent metaspace from them. After buying/renting the space, you can start designing your store. 

Once the store is set up, People in their avatars or digital twin will visit your store, interact with your representatives, experience the products/services, engage with other immersive content you have produced, and if they like the product, they might purchase it. 

There are two significant types of products in the metaverse — first, the virtual products and in-store purchases that can be bought as NFTs or avatar wearables using the cryptocurrencies and secondly, virtual product twins, which are purchased using real money at the metastore and later their physical counterparts will be delivered to the purchaser's physical address. In short, metaverse stores replicate the physical store experience virtually. 

Key Characteristics of Metaverse E-commerce stores

1. More than sales, metaverse stores concentrate on socially connecting and interacting with their audience. Metaverse, still now, is seen as a path to connect with the audience like social media, where brand awareness increases tremendously among new customers. 
2. Along with building relationships, building communities plays a major part in the metaverse presence. Having a community will outstandingly promote the product and help in gaining loyal customers. 
3. Metaverse stores bridge the gap between the digital and the real worlds, allowing branding to provide an omnichannel immersive experience. 
4. People can access the store from anywhere, and it helps to build a global customer base. Until recently, the metaverse was accessible only through VR headsets, but now there are multiple option metaverse platforms, which people can access simply through their laptops, mobiles or tablets. It has enabled people to access immersive content, try products virtually, and buy them comfortably sitting at home. 
5. Hyper-personalisation plays a significant role. Brands find the metaverse as the best marketing tool that helps them in providing their customers with a personalised experience.

Why are the metaverse stores the next step for e-commerce businesses?

Customers tend to adapt rapidly to new technologies in this age of digital dependency. So businesses also need to travel at the same speed to gain the trust and attention of their targeted audience. And that makes the metaverse a huge opportunity for the brands to reach out to the young generations, take advantage of potential marketing sources, and boost brand awareness. 

Here are some benefits of investing in the metaverse and having a virtual store. 

1. Having a metaverse store now will help brands connect with Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences, who are the most potential customers in the near future.
2. Though the metaverse is still nascent, establishing the store now will help your brand grow with the technology, and when the technology matures, your brand will become the pioneer.
3. Storytelling is the best way to improve brand identity and awareness among the audience. The metaverse will 
4. By offering an omnichannel shopping network to your customers, you can easily connect the customers in the physical and virtual worlds and build a large community. 
5. Metaverse is a great marketing tool. As interactions, communication and community participation will be a significant part of the metaverse, you will have the opportunity to market and promote your brands and their products to a diverse audience. 

How can Altyug help businesses build metaverse stores?

Altyug is a highly immersive metaverse platform where businesses can build their store, organize events, meetings, and expos, build communities and engage with people. 

Brands can allow their audience to gather, connect, work, play, entertain, showcase & display products/services, solve problems and make sales in their exclusive metaverse space. 

Metaverse stores at Altyug are incredibly immersive with features like user-customizable avatars, real-time communication, enticing venues, intuitive interactions, gamification, quick analytics and reporting and lots of socializing and fun features. 

Team Wiztales will provide powerful backend support from buying the space, designing and developing the store, and launching it. 

Want to explore what a metaverse store looks like in Altyug? Book a demo!