Virtual shopping and the metaverse are reshaping the retail experience.
The retail marketplace has never been so fragmented, and the focus is shifting to AI and Web3. Accenture reports that 30% of consumers plan to shop in the metaverse this holiday. And more than 67% of retail executives are experimenting with the metaverse and virtual worlds to accelerate their businesses and engage with consumers where they want to be. What was once “brick-and-mortar or e-tail” is now brick-and-mortar and e-tail and virtual shopping and the metaverse. Be everywhere all the time.
Bloomingdales has been dabbling for some time now. For their 150th anniversary, they launched their virtual store designed by Emporia that went live during Fashion Week this year. The next step is dropping it into the metaverse, or metaverses, since it’s not yet one place. Bloomingdales doesn’t see it as a change but rather an extension of the retail experience they have thrived at for decades. Regardless, they are still throwing tons of money at something that is far from showing a positive ROI. Good for the brand, though.
As Standish put it, the hope is that “consumers move freely and seamlessly across both digital and non-digital channels at every point in the buying journey.” She goes on to say, “Ambitious retail enterprises will shape new physical and digital experiences, virtual and physical worlds co-populated by people and AI, industries made possible by new computing capabilities.”
The truth is that brands are still experimenting. The spend needs to be considered an investment in future engagement given that the metaverse is still in its infancy and yet to be widely adopted. But it’s coming.
In a short time, the metaverse and Web3 have assumed a prominent role in many brands’ strategic thinking. Goldman Sachs predicts the whole virtual e-tail, web3, metaverse shopping thing is an $8 trillion opportunity, though only indicated by the heavy investment pouring into the space. The jury is still out.
It’s probably only a matter of time. We’ll see.