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What Can the Metaverse Do for Retail?
What Can the Metaverse Do for Retail?
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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.
The 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. 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.
JACK STRATTEN
Senior Trends Consultant Insider Trends
These provide their owners with access to upcoming digital experiences and virtual wearables. They will also function as the access tokens to Adiverse, a virtual world Adidas is building in Sandbox, which will offer exclusive experiences and virtual merch. As such, the NFTs function as digital loyalty cards offering VIP access to Adidas’ biggest fans. Plus, they also give the owners exclusive physical merchandise at no extra cost. New Opportunities for Brand Expression
One of the most exciting things about the metaverse is the potential for retailers to be bolder in their brand expression. Another brand that is taking its first steps into the metaverse with Roblox is Vans.
Vans World is a massive virtual skate park. Users can dress their avatar and customise their skateboard before completing skateboard tricks and taking part in daily challenges. With the Vans brand so closely tied to skate culture, it is a glimpse into how brands can express themselves in new, yet entirely authentic, ways. Even brands whose products require senses that do not easily translate to digital, such as smell and taste, are exploring the possibilities of the metaverse. For example, Coca-Cola is launching a digital version of its new Diet Coke flavour before the physical one hits store shelves. It has partnered with PWR, a gaming organisation, to build a custom island within the Fortnite video game. Visitors to Pixel Point can try out Coke-themed mini-games, and virtually ‘taste’ Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Byte. The Metaverse and the Physical World
Although the metaverse may seem like it supersedes the physical world, we are seeing some interesting combinations of the two.
Last year London concept store Machine-A launched an AR store to highlight the work of independent designers. Working with the Institute of Digital Fashion and taking place during London Fashion Week, the virtual sales floor could be accessed by scanning a QR code. What was interesting is that the QR code was embedded in fly-posters and billboards across London, showing that tech enables the door to a store to be placed anywhere. As such, the metaverse could push retail into entirely new physical environments. Meanwhile, the virtual Harajuku created by the ward of Shibuya in Tokyo, Japan, shows how entire physical shopping areas can move into the metaverse. Shoppers can walk around the virtual streets of Harajuku via an avatar, experience live performances and visit fully shoppable retail spaces. In this case though, they are not only buying digital products. Purchases they make virtually can be delivered to them as physical products in the real world. These concepts are just the tip of the iceberg of what is possible. Perhaps the biggest thing the metaverse can do for retail is to shake up what retail actually is.
The Warehouse Kuwait
The Warehouse Kuwait - The Dinning Hub The Warehouse Kuwait - The Main Hub
WHEN URBAN STREETSCAPES MEET AN OUTSTANDING OFFERING
Project Area : 106,000 m2
GLA : 75,000 m2
Retail Stores : 180 stores
Cinema Screens : 7 screens
Parking : 2,500 spaces
The Warehouse will be Kuwait’s first premium urban shopping destination. The 106,000 m2 project will offer shoppers over 180 retail stores including a 7-screen cinema with approximately 2500 car parking spaces. Located strategically between King Fahad Bin Abdulaziz Highway and Fahaheel expressway in South Sabahiya, Ahmadi Governate, the Warehouse Kuwait enjoys high visibility and easy access, making it convenient for shoppers from across Kuwait to visit.
The mall has been designed to present retail, F&B and entertainment in an industrial and urban setting that is inspired by rustic warehouses. Exposed structures, play of concrete and brick walls, metal girders, double and triple height mall ways with skylights create an indoor streetscape atmosphere with light and shadows elevating the mood and creating a unique shopping experience. The Warehouse Kuwait will present customers with a curated mix of home, retail, entertainment, dining and a unique pet offering in a modern contemporary setting, making it an ideal shopping destination and social meeting point.
