FEATURE
From Beta to Meta; The Metaverse and How It Will Affect the Shopping Mall Industry
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here may be no consumer technology platform that is driving more debate than the ‘metaverse’. The metaverse – is defined as a parallel reality consisting of connected worlds brought to life by technologies including augmented and virtual reality. The metaverse is an always-on virtual world where people can work, play, and shop; part-augmented, part-reality. Whilst a relatively new concept, the market is predicting the metaverse industry will be worth US $800bn (AED 29.3 tril) by 2024. Forecasters are predicting that retailers will play a pivotal role in financing the metaverse. Designed to break free from the current physical-form stores and move to the best digital shopping experience of the future, virtual festivals, showrooms and flagships will create more compelling online experiences. This will include personalised brandscapes and desktop-accessible immersion which will create new rules of engagement.
Vanessa Hinton Marketing Director
Nike filed a number of trademark applications in November with plans to sell virtual branded sneakers and apparel. In 2021, it bought the virtual sneaker company RTFKT (pronounced “artifact”) for an undisclosed amount.
In June 2021, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced it was changing its company name to Meta, signaling its ambitions beyond social media. “There are going to be new ways of interacting with your devices that are more natural. Instead of typing, you will be able to gesture or interact....giving you a sense of presence in the new experiences you are having and the people you are with,” says Mark Zuckerberg unveiling his company vision. Whilst Facebook has tried to claim the territory with a rebrand, it is important to highlight that the metaverse will span many companiesacross the industry.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that the company was rebranding to Meta, preparing for the future launch of the Metaverse.
Will it be critical to embrace the potential of the metaverse for retailers or risk being left behind?
What’s in it for retailers? Who’s leading the pack? Retail brands are beginning to dip their toes into the virtual water of the metaverse. In 2021, Samsung unveiled their virtual store Samsung 837X in the Decentraland platform. Gucci launched its Garden Experience in Roblox, the online multiplayer platform popular with children and teens. Gucci’s most expensive digital accessory – a Queen Bee Dionysus bag – traded for $4,100 (AED 15,100), which is $500 (AED 1,800) more than its physical product Gucci equivalent.
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Gucci Garden is a garden of virtual archetypes – an immersive space that explores their campaigns from the past six years.
What this means for shopping centres? There is no doubt that more immersive and engaging realistic experiences are the next logical evolution of the shopping experience. However, will transactions only be digital, or will customers be able to buy real-world services and products too? What will their in-store experience be within the metaverse and how will it connect to the brand’s existing channels? The only way for retailers and shopping centres to survive and succeed within this new platform will be to transform into a hyper-automated business and embrace a hyperautomation strategy. The jury is out for retailers and shopping centres to connect the dots between journeys, stores and operations and there’s no time to waste. No matter how you feel about the metaverse, you won’t be able to ignore the chatter in 2022.
