Today, the retail industry is at the cusp of disruption. Metaverse will be driving this revolution thereby changing the way customers shop and interact with brands. Although Metaverse made a noise only after the major rebranding decision by Facebook, it has been existing in the virtual world of the video gaming industry for many years. Games such as Sandbox, Roblox, Axie Infinity have been upgrading their Metaverse-like platforms for the past 16 years. 

Players can customize their online avatars and can make in-game purchases to further personalize their avatars and participation in the games. Similarly, brands from different industries are also upgrading their operations and strategies on establishing a stronger virtual presence and creating all-immersive digital experiences for customers. They are considering Metaverse as the potential game-changer in the retail industry.

Recently, Walmart’s trademark applications reflected the company’s preparations for creating its cryptocurrency and NFTs focused on selling electronic items, appliances, home décor, and toys to consumers virtually.

Research reveals that around 77 percent of customers only just ‘add to cart’ while browsing their websites and don’t complete the purchases. Metaverse can play a crucial role in resolving this issue by improving customers’ experience. For the Metaverse experience, consumers will require Metaverse accessible gadgets such as VR headsets, motion sensors, and motion gloves. Looking at the future demand, they shall soon become affordable for average customers, and they can shop from brands virtually as though they are shopping from offline stores. 

Metaverse will provide a better shopping experience for customers by offering visualization and a better engaging experience which was missing before at the virtual stores. 3D virtual stores have evolved a long way since the first store launched by eBay in 2016. Customers can explore various tailor-made features available on the websites of retail brands and try out various options. Additionally, it is convenient, time-saving, and offers faster personalization as compared to offline stores.

In early 2022, H&M held an event to announce the opening of their new H&M Innovation Circular Design Story Collection where attendees could experience the Metaverse technology by creating their digital avatar and participating in a virtual parade of their avatars as protagonists. How H&M did do this? Well, the popular retail chain recreated one of its flagship stores including promotional posters and messages just like any of its offline stores. The garments were available in a digital mode which users can try on their digital avatars and acquire through NFT assets. However, H&M is still working with the Swedish company to materialize this virtual concept into reality for customers. Many other global brands such as Nike, Adidas, Gucci, Ralph Lauren have also jumped into the bandwagon of offering digital clothing in the Metaverse mode.

With the boom of cryptocurrencies, blockchain (its fundamental technology) will be instrumental in driving the growth of the retail industry by diminishing the line between the virtual and real world. Similarly augmented and virtual reality, 3D, and Web 3.0 will also help the customers to experience the real-world experience in the digital world. NFTs (Non-fungible tokens) will augment this growth as they are original, unique, exclusive, and irreplicable digital files that are encrypted in the blockchain and hence can be resold or relocated virtually.

How Retail Brands are Integrating Metaverse Technology

Let’s have a look at the various brands that are changing the game in the retail industry by integrating Metaverse technology in their retail operations.

H&M - The brand has recreated 11 pieces from its vegan Co-Exist Story collection in virtual form to showcase at the in-game fashion show. The entire show is designed to reflect the vegan values of the brand including collection, promoting vegan food, banning fishing and hunting at the retailers' Loop Island remodeled by the brand. Additionally, gamers can also download the collection from the Able Sisters Shop to try them on their digital avatars.

Gucci - One of the world’s renowned retail brands Gucci has collaborated with the virtual creator on Supergucci and bought a plot on the virtual real estate platform, The Sandbox for including its every Metaverse project under the brand Gucci Vault concept.

Roblox - One of the most popular gaming platforms Roblox has witnessed the majority of collaborations in the fashion world. Nike collaborated with Oblox for creating a free virtual playspace known as Nikeland. Similarly, Gucci developed the Gucci Garden for selling limited-edition digital clothing and Vans joined hands with the gaming major for developing an interactive store that offers the facility of customizing sneakers and attending virtual concerts to its online customers.

Dyson - The brand has developed an advanced virtual reality technology known as Dubbed Demo VR that enables customers to test its products such as Airwrap styler and hairdryer using Oculus headset from the comfort of their own home.

Nike - Nike quietly joined the Metaverse bandwagon a few years ago. It kickstarted by patenting various trademarks and later partnering with the gaming platform Roblox on Nikeland, designed after Nike’s real-life headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. It has already filed for seven patents to protect its trademarks to download virtual goods. Nikeland is a virtual free-to-play platform for games such as dodgeball and floor-is-lava. Nike sold out virtual shoes worth 3.5 million euros in just 5 minutes on the platform proving metaverse will be a big gamechanger in the retail industry by 2025.

Fortnite - Another gaming major has introduced a platform for hosting in-game concerts for artists such as Marshmello and Ariana Grande. It will allow user interaction while they are listening to the show during the game. Moving further, Fortnite is extending its metaverse plan with the Party Worlds and new 3D spaces created for players to socialize with friends.

The British Fashion Council (BFC) - BFC collaborated with Roblox to design its first-ever Fashion Award for Metaverse design and awarded its first winner, cSapphire in a virtual ceremony by the digital avatar of Gucci’s Alessandro Michele.

Future Ahead

Microsoft, Meta’s major rival is also investing in immersive spaces with a focus on redefining the workspace. The company recently launched Mesh for Microsoft Teams, a feature allowing people from different locations to join for collaborative holographic experiences. Users can create their customized digital avatar and create immersive spaces for meetings and collaboration through Mesh at MS Teams. Moreover, metaverse has become an absolute solution between digital, e-commerce, and real-world empowering people to interact with digital avatars, other people, and try various brands online.

Currently, Metaverse is being used by a niche section of customers and is yet unavailable to the masses. To experience Metaverse customers will often require RV headsets and this technology could take another 5 to 10 years to get replicated in real-life making Metaverse mainstream. However, brands can currently collaborate with different interactive games and utilize their avatars or develop their virtual worlds.