By- Mr. Navdeep Gill, Founder, and CEO at XenonStack shares how Metaverse is here to change commerce
We are living in the future! Technological advancements have been around the corner for the past decade but the last few years have truly seen technology grow exponentially to not only ease our lives but become an entertainment and infotainment part of our lives. With Facebook rebranding itself as META, the world up and paid attention to this trend and this new wave of internet and connectivity.
The metaverse is here and it is here to stay. Catapulted by the pandemic, digital-based
economies witnessed a decade’s worth of escalation in the wink of an eye. The rise of
blockchain, NFTs, and AI-powered applications and tech tools in almost all aspects of life and business are further fueling the magnification of metaverse from just a virtual reality platform to a space with a rich eco-system and metaverse gateways, platforms, and infrastructures, as well as a variety of service providers in place to enhance customer experience. It is a reality beyond reality itself.
Here’s how Metaverse will find its application in some of the key industries – Education – In a post-crisis world, education continues to be handled by Campuses and their digital twins. With digital education more streamlined after the pandemic, the metaverse will further this transformation in the coming years. Online education is currently available to everyone at a click of their finger and at a time convenient to them. While metaverse will continue to offer these, it will push the boundaries of hyper-reality. Sessions for both education and skill development at the industrial level may take the help of metaverse with digital avatars,
augmented realities etc for an experiential educational module.
Retail and Consumer Brands – Metaverse will help in creating innovative and meaningful interactions with the brands. From e-catalogs to now accepting social commerce and Q- Commerce, the retail industry has experimented with varied ways to stay connected with the consumer. The prevalence and growth of virtual characters in both retail sectors be it for gaming or fashion, has pushed brands to enhance both in-store and digital experiences. The metaverse will offer new and innovative opportunities for brands to engage with their target audience.
Automotive and Manufacturing – The automotive industry is transforming with IoT and AI. With metaverse, this sector will bring together VR, AR, and MR (mixed reality). Besides product design, the manufacturing and development process will receive a huge boost in the metaverse with augmented development process, trial production testing, operation management, marketing, and other operations that can be simulated and verified within the virtual community before its production in the real world.
Businesses must prepare for the impact of Metaverse with a key digital transformation strategy and response-based system in place. Here are a few factors to take note of – Cryptocurrency is on the rise – Metaverse would transcend the geographical limitation and
create a singular market economy. With real estate, entertainment, lifestyle, fashion, education et al thriving and finding there a place in this metaverse, cryptocurrency will assume the same place as fiscal currency.
Backed by technology and protected by blockchain for record-keeping, ownership determination, automated remittance, transparency, etc, cryptocurrency is the key to entering and owning the metaverse. It will be instrumental for businesses to be equipped to
handle this change and work towards furthering digital transformation.
Augmented Marketing – From print ads to digital media to videos for marketing, the world has seen unprecedented growth in reaching the masses through media. Metaverse will bring a new meaning to marketing. A unique and lucrative space for brands to reach their audience, metaverse will augment the shopping experience. Basics like feeling the fabric, and the texture of products and trying on products in the metaverse before buying would be the new normal. VR billboards, wholesome videos, etc will help in accelerating sales. This change will also call for heightened analysis of digital insights and traffic. From refined SEO, advertisement stats, and deciphering virtual avatars and their purchase pattern, metaverse will call for businesses to have an innovative strategy in place.
Real estate – Asset ownership in the metaverse will be instrumental to a business’s
representation and operation. One of the main reasons why property ownership is important in the metaverse is because of the concepts of interoperability and asset ownership. From concerts to galas, businesses hosting events or a college hosting a career day, real estate will be of paramount importance. As more experiences move to the virtual space, this type of property ownership is the next big avenue for real estate.
Challenges and changes – Metaverse though the future of augmented reality, is relatively new as of now. Like every new advancement, it will require investment and a considerable amount of change in numerous business silos requiring time and planning. Besides this, it also stands to understand that as a tech platform, metaverse and its application may require businesses to face charges related to cost, time, regulation, and security, especially for early adopters. For financial institutions and commerce challenges related to jurisdiction, governance, duties, and security will take time to unfurl.
Investing in digital real estate, adopting crypto, and remaining flexible and resourceful is the only way to survive and thrive in the Digital era ahead of us.
