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What Can the Metaverse Do for Retail? Jack Stratten is Senior Trends Consultant at retail futures consultancy Insider Trends. Continuously monitoring best practices in global retail, Jack has delivered trend tours, presentations and workshops to many of the world’s biggest brands and retailers, helping them to solve complex challenges and navigate the future of retail.
T
he metaverse – broadly speaking a 3D version of the internet that exists parallel to the real world – is one hot topic.
But it is not just some future concept. Many of the world’s biggest brands are already engaging with the metaverse, through NFTs (non-fungible tokens), virtual stores and digital items for avatars. These immersive concepts are not just an opportunity to increase brand awareness and create memorable customer experiences. They are also an opportunity to sell.
The Way into the Metaverse One thing we are seeing in the current wave of brand experimentation is that there is not just one way to enter the metaverse. While certain retailers have opted to create digital versions of their existing stores, sportswear giant Nike has chosen to create an entire virtual world. Built with the gaming platform Roblox, Nikeland uses Nike’s real-life headquarters as its design inspiration. Instead of walking around a store, visitors explore fields and arenas to take part in mini-games and design their own.
RETAIL PEOPLE . MAY - JUL 2022
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JACK STRATTEN
Senior Trends Consultant Insider Trends A digital showroom allows users to buy digital versions of classic and new Nike products to dress their avatar in. This means Nike can use the space as a testing ground to gauge consumer interest in new designs. In an interesting twist, Nike recently bought the virtual Nikeland to its physical House of Innovation store in NYC via augmented reality (AR). Meanwhile, Adidas, another sportswear leader, has chosen non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as its vehicle into the metaverse. It partnered with Bored Ape Yacht Club, gmoney and PUNKS Comic to develop collectible NFTs.
