Shopping centers have become a central place for experiences, meetings, leisure and, ultimately, important social interactions. Now imagine that these meetings take place in a virtual shopping center in the metaverse… There we can also spend hours, meet our friends, interact with them in real time… And all this without leaving home. The virtual shopping center is coming soon and, in fact, today, it is already becoming a reality.
Shopping malls emerged as the symbol of Americanization in the 1950s, becoming the center of Western consumer culture. Then came e-commerce and the rise of Amazon. But retail, as it is known today, is changing. Traditional malls aren’t dying, but as the conversation in the metaverse begins to gain momentum, a virtual mall would immediately become attractive to consumers, brands, businesses, or someone looking to invest in NFTs or non-fungible tokens.
While the metaverse is still a confusing notion to some, others already see these fictional virtual worlds as the shopping malls of tomorrow. Eager to try new shopping experiences without leaving their couch, many consumers have already purchased a digital item in a video game. Now they want brands to multiply initiatives of the genre on the platforms of the metaverse.
A study reveals that 40% of respondents, belonging to all generations, consider that the metaverse is only in a conceptual stage, but that it could materialize in the form of online technological platforms in which the public could move using an avatar.
The metaverse explosion is real
Still incipient and almost unknown, it will turn investment, technology and real estate, advertising and marketing, or the management of brands and retail brands globally. Also in the concepts and channels, physical and electronic. The real disruption is yet to come.
