Only 18 per cent of all consumers surveyed said that they engaged with virtual worlds at all. Of the 100 consumers surveyed who do engage with virtual worlds, 76 per cent play games and 39 per cent socialise in them, as per a February 2022 consumer study by CommerceNext, in partnership with Bizrate Insights, Coresight Research and CommX.
While only 30 per cent of the group shops in metaverse environments, these respondents reported interest in activities such as shopping in virtual malls and trying on clothing and accessories virtually when they were asked about potential shopping-related activities in future metaverse visits. Notably, respondents showed the most interest in buying real-world products, a glimmer of hope for metaverse-bound retailers.
“Our survey data indicate that awareness of the metaverse is low overall, but the potential is high,” said Veronika Sonsev, co-founder of CommerceNext. “While most shoppers were not familiar with the metaverse, the ones that engage in virtual worlds seemed inclined to shop in the metaverse in the future.”
“Despite the hype, this timely research helps ground where the metaverse is really at for consumers, while pointing to where it can have a meaningful impact in the long term,” said Brian Walker, chief strategy officer at Bloomreach, a founding CommX member. “For brands, their metaverse marketing strategy might focus on the brand and PR benefits as they begin to test and learn. Overall, retailers aren’t missing out on sales if they are not focused on the metaverse now, as consumer adoption is still early, but they’ll want to keep an eye on emerging technologies and platforms as potential revenue drivers as shopper awareness and usage grows.”
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)