Many market observers are convinced with the arrival of Metaverse. Like the mobile internet, the new virtual world could change the way companies and brands communicate with their customers and target groups.
Metaverse: More than just a gimmick

Metaverse: More than just a gimmick

Many market observers are convinced with the arrival of Metaverse. Like the mobile internet, the new virtual world could change the way companies and brands communicate with their customers and target groups.

Since the Facebook parent company changed its name to Meta in October 2021, there has been no stopping it: everyone is talking about the Metaverse. It’s supposed to be a new, better version of the internet that will change everyone’s life. With the help of virtual reality glasses (VR), users should immerse themselves completely in the digital future. Instead of just looking at content, they are right in the middle of the metaverse and can actively move through virtual parallel worlds in the form of an avatar.

The first of these metaverses already exist. They are called Decentraland, Somnium Space, Cryptovoxels and The Sandbox. The tech giants are also working intensively on concepts and functions for the Metaverse. For example, with Horizon Workrooms, Meta has launched a virtual meeting room that can be reached with a VR headset as well as via the classic Internet.

People meet in a virtual, three-dimensional room, the size of which can be adjusted. Spatial audio and expressive avatars are intended to suggest being together with colleagues. Microsoft is developing in a similar direction and has already announced that it will integrate the first VR functions into its Teams platform. Apple is still keeping a low profile when it comes to Metaverse, but recently let it be known that they are also increasingly relying on augmented reality technologies (AR). And Google is said to be already working on its own AR operating system.

Lucrative prospects

The Metaverse could turn out to be lucrative not only for the big tech companies, but for many other companies. Grayscale Investments, an American investment service provider for digital currencies, puts the potential revenue from the Metaverse at $1 trillion annually. Companies could generate income in the areas of gaming, advertising, social commerce, digital events, hardware and software, among other things.

The first companies have already had very good experiences with sponsoring and merchandising. For example, a US digital real estate mutual fund bought a virtual lot in Decentraland for more than $900,000. In the meantime, the investor has built a shopping district on his property, in which, among other things, the US bank JP Morgan operates a virtual branch.

Open to virtual worlds

If companies take into account the principle that metaverse activities should not be an end in themselves, but should be consumer-oriented and create innovative brand experiences, they could knock open doors. Because the basic mood in relation to the metaverse has so far been very positive among consumers in this country.

According to a study by OMD Germany and the agency Annalect, 61 percent of respondents in Germany are interested in the topic of metaverse. Eleven percent already have experience with virtual worlds, 18 percent want to try them out in the near future and 32 percent can imagine using them.

The survey also provides answers to the desired activities of those interested: almost half of those who can imagine using a virtual world in the future want to travel in it (48 percent), play (46 percent) or study (45 percent) in it. . For 41 percent, the focus is on social exchange or a shopping tour and 37 percent are looking for cultural experiences.

Marcus Veigel, CEO of digital creative agency Cynapsis Interactive, believes that such a digital future is much closer than many think. “Metaverse – we’re kind of in there already,” he says. In his estimation, technologies such as non-fungible tokens (NFT) and blockchain will be the building blocks for the future.

But there are already great opportunities in showing the numerous data sources and virtual content in the real world. For example, if you make furniture tangible with an augmented reality application before ordering, you avoid unnecessary returns. Interactive AR and VR instruction manuals could take service calls to a whole new level.

traland for more than $900,000. In the meantime, the investor has built a shopping district on his property, in which, among other things, the US bank JP Morgan operates a virtual branch.

The Metaverse follows the mobile Internet

The mobile Internet is still the dominant medium. But market observers assume that it will be replaced by the Metaverse – with everything that goes with it. From changed usage behavior to new end devices. The demand for augmented and virtual reality headsets is already increasing and forecasts assume further growth:

Analysts at market researcher IDC predict that around 50 million AR and VR headsets will be sold worldwide in 2026. For comparison: last year it was only around ten million. The average annual growth rate is more than 35 percent.

Be there from the start

The Federal Association of the Digital Economy (BVDW) has already reacted clearly to the metaverse trend. The “Metaverse” department was founded there in February 2022, replacing the previous Mobile focus group.

“If the Metaverse is able to disrupt the smartphone, we want to be there,” says Mark Wächter, interim chairman of the new department, which is intended to address two core topics: In the “Technology and Business Models” area, they want to deal with specifications and standards for immersive 3D realities as well as topics such as NFT economy and metaverse commerce.

A second area will deal with the legal framework, ethics and sustainability. Wächter is convinced: “We are at a turning point comparable to 2007, when Steve Jobs took the stage and presented a smartphone without a keyboard.” The Metaverse will influence all industries.

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