Milking the Metaverse

The metaverse came at an opportune time, when the fashion industry was looking for innovation and digital reformation. Now that this parallel digital universe has already been in existence, fashion brands must look to move past traditional practices and explore new opportunities it offers for enhancing the shopping experience of customers while creating greater engagement and a possible revenue stream. Take a look at some key aspects that you, as a brand, can work around to create that WOW effect the newage customer desires.

- Yash Bhatia

One can agree that the metaverse has become quite the buzzword, generating a lot of attention among netizens. We can also give credit to Facebook when, in 2021, it rebranded itself to Meta Platforms Inc. with a strong VR/AR element attached to it. The move reflected the emergence of a new era of digitisation. In their report, 'Luxury Outlook 2022', BCG states, 'In our survey, 62% of the 25 to 34-year-old respondents said they believe that the concepts of Web3 and the metaverse could eventually replace today's social networks.'

The term 'metaverse' is a portmanteau of two words: Meta, which means 'beyond' in Greek, and Verse which is suggestive of the universe. Although there is no official definition for the word, in simple terms it means a confluence of our physical and virtual worlds where we can create our digital avatars that can interact and communicate in virtual spaces.

The beginning

In the last couple of years, the pandemic has changed the way people shop and the way companies run their businesses. With markets seeing a drastic shift from offline to online due to COVID-19, brands have started re-focusing their strategies and energies, prioritising technical innovations. According to the State of Fashion Technology Report 2022' by McKinsey and Company, bullish observers expect that five years down the line, mass consumer adaptation of the virtual world will create the biggest opportunity for the fashion industry since the revolutionary e-commerce.

A number of fashion retail brands, including the likes of Nike, Louis Vuitton, Adidas and Gucci, are showing increasing interest towards investing in the metaverse. But, there is also some well-founded scepticism. Whether these brands are viewing this as a potential market that will change how consumers shop or a mere marketing gimmick is still unclear.

The concept