Although the concept of the “metaverse” has acquired buzzword status in recent months and is constantly on the lips of those who work professionally in the field of technology and other related disciplines, the truth is that the average consumer is barely familiar with this “word.” According to a recent report by Wunderman Thompson , only 38% of consumers globally are actually familiar with the “metaverse,” a concept used to refer to the increasingly blurred boundary between physical and digital spaces.
However, due to their rampantly “techie” attitude, consumers seem destined to plunge headlong into this “metaverse” that they only know superficially. Not in vain, 76% of consumers admit that their daily life is largely at the mercy of technology. This figure rises to 79% among centennials (young people between 16 and 26 years old) and up to 80% among millennials (people between 27 and 41 years old).
He doesn't know the "metaverse", but the consumer has technology permanently at his side
That today's consumer is indeed addicted to technology is also reflected in another fact: 66% of consumers prefer to interact with brands on digital channels and 73% consider that interaction with companies is easier on online platforms. In addition, 85% of consumers say that having a digital presence will be absolutely essential for brands eager to achieve success in the future.
The Wunderman Thompson report surveyed more than 3,000 consumers from the United States and China and also included interviews with 15 experts on their views on the ubiquitous "metaverse."
Although the “metaverse” still sounds like Chinese to many consumers, the truth is that brands are already jumping on this bandwagon by creating virtual universes in video games and launching all kinds of digital paraphernalia with the invaluable support of “blockchain” technology. Facebook, for example, aims to reinvent itself by betting everything on the “metaverse.”
And it seems that those brands that sink their teeth into the "metaverse" first will have a significantly easier time connecting with a consumer whose purchasing and consumption habits have changed radically in recent months.
However, invading virtual spaces with advertising that are at first glance more or less jordan number data intimate entails no small number of risks (given the growing suspicion with which consumers view advertisements in digital environments).
“The foundational tools and habits that form the foundation of the ‘metaverse’ are already in place ,” explains Naomi Troni, global chief marketing & growth office at Wunderman Thompson. “Only 38% of consumers may have heard of the ‘metaverse’ concept, but it’s time to define that ‘metaverse’ and establish a roadmap for brands to enter the scene,” she adds.
Coined back in 1992 by writer Neal Stephenson in the novel Snow Crash , the “metaverse” has historically been associated with “gaming” and some of its most notable examples come, in fact, from platforms such as Roblox and Fortnite. But the “metaverse” is breaking away from the world of video games to become “mainstream” and play an absolutely fundamental role in connecting people across the globe.
According to Wunderman Thompson, the “metaverse” is made up of four major areas: MetaLives (which take shape through digital ownership and the creation of content based on formats such as digital art and NFTs ); MetaSpaces (virtual scenarios or activations that amalgamate aspects of the digital world with elements of the real world); MetaBusiness (a space that includes the burgeoning “gamevertising”); and MetaSocieties (where people cultivate hyperrealistic identities on the network of networks).
These four areas converge in the growing consumer dependence on technology. 64% of consumers confess that technology is a pillar of their social life and 61% go further and say that their livelihood depends on ubiquitous technology. In addition, 52% of consumers link their own happiness to technology.