All the indicators point to the metaverse being a USD 678 billion profitable business by 2030
The metaverse is currently one of the biggest market trends in the world, largely due to the adoption it has been given by multiple companies around the world, such as Nike, Facebook, Adidas, Gucci, Balenciaga, etc. But if you thought the Metaverse was just a passing fad, you were very much mistaken!
“The metaverse is a fast-growing trend with a considerate penetration rate of users for various applications such as gaming, content creation, social interaction, learning and training, and online virtual shopping.”
The Metaverse is expected to penetrate a huge variety of industries in many ways over the coming years. The potential market opportunity is estimated at over $1 billion in annual revenue.
For all of the above, here you have some business opportunities you can get into if you want to jump into the metaverse hello.
Digital Assets
Consumers no longer need to go to physical shops to check new products or feel their quality.
With virtual reality and augmented reality, we already can try lots of products at home. We can buy them and have them delivered to our place, all of that in the comfort of our sofa.
Almost everything that is sold in the physical world today could be sold in the metaverse.
For instance, the customisation of our realistic avatars is generating opportunities to develop many customisable products. In our previous post, you can check the big retail brands betting on the metaverse that offers a wide variety of customisable accessories for users.
Games & Entertainment
Historically, the main driver of the industry has been the video games industry. So it’s normal that this sector starts at an advantage.
The metaverse is transforming the video games industry, creating more realistic immersive experiences that allow users to become part of their environment and interact with the platforms.
The clear separation between the game and the user that we have now with the 2D screen will disappear and the metaverse will bring users into the screen and make them experience the game as if they were part of it.
Today, there is a technology race led by big tech companies like Facebook, Atari, Sony, NVIDIA, Epic Games and Microsoft to be the first to efficiently implement their own metaverse experience and achieve dominance in the new market. But who will be the one to succeed?
Publicity & Marketing
The main challenges with this new technology are deciding which metaverse to market in, and the KPIs to implement and develop new forms of engagement.
Our buying routines are changing. We are now looking for shopping experiences that resemble the classic approach of going to a shop and looking at their products. Marketing in the metaverse will have to focus on providing users with a “real” shopping experience.
During the pandemic, restrictions have been a problem for physical businesses, however, the metaverse presents itself as a solution.
After the considerable increase in online sales in recent years and possible future lockdowns, the metaverse can make the virtual shopping experience better and therefore improve the quality and satisfaction of the user with it.
Nothing is set in stone when it comes to marketing in the metaverse. As a consequence, big brands are launching random promotional campaigns, without having a clear idea of how to target users.
The first marketing agencies to position themselves in the sector will have an incredible head start.
Real State
Virtual land is basically a non-fungible token (NFT), a digital collectable that relies on the blockchain, therefore is paid for in cryptocurrencies.
Even though you can get your land on different platforms such as Roblox corporation, Decentraland or many others, 3 out of 4 plots sold in 2021 belonged to Sandbox.
The record for the sale of a single plot of land is $4.3 million, bought by Republic Realm on Sandbox.
But is the metaverse’s real state an investment opportunity? Well, the higher the demand and the lower the supply, the higher the price. Basic economics.
Big companies are jumping in and buying land in the metaverse where they can build their houses, theme parks, virtual stores, cinemas, etc. The possibilities are endless!
Celebrities and companies are getting their virtual plots, some of them are Gucci, Snoop Dogg, Nike, Warner Music Group, Adidas, Paris Hilton, McDonald’s, and many more!
It goes without saying that in order to buy virtual land you need to have a virtual wallet!
Virtual Office Building
The metaverse brings us the opportunity to travel the world and visit virtual expositions, museums, conferences, cathedrals and much more.
There is a nice niche to grow as a company specialising in creating and developing realistic virtual spaces for businesses. For example, Microsoft has created Mesh “the company’s ambitious new attempt at unifying holographic virtual collaboration across multiple devices, be they VR headsets, AR, laptops or smartphones“. This technology allows the hosting of virtual meetings so people can collaborate from anywhere around the world in a shared 3D space.
Several musicians are implementing this technology in their concerts. In the clip below, John Legend, wearing a motion-capture suit sang on life for his fans in a virtual club. His followers had the chance to experience a live concert where they could be a matter away from their idol and dive into an immersive experience from their homes.
Touch-sensitive devices
We will have a fully immersive experience when devices and applications are developed that enable us to feel and smell the environment and experiences around us.
Replicating sensations such as pressure, texture and vibration will be another major demand in the market. Regarding touch, work is already ongoing on body-tracking kits that allow machines to respond to our every movement.
Microsoft and Ultraleap have major breakthroughs in this direction to bring the sense of touch to the metaverse through haptic gloves.
In 2020, the Meiji University, in Tokyo, developed “Norikami”, a machine that tricks the tongue into perceiving flavours but without using any food. The machine combines and adjusts five different gels to create the illusion of flavour when in contact with the taste buds.
The opportunities mentioned are just a few of the hundreds possible that will be born in the coming years out of the necessity to provide solutions for the holistic development of the metaverse.
