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As the popularity of online gaming has exploded over the past couple of years, the brands that enter the metaverse can meet their customers where they are and effectively engage them.
Metaverse allows audience members to not just passively watch a video but become active participants. Thanks to virtual reality, consumers can feel like they are navigating a digital setting via avatars that make them feel like they are actually in that world they see in their headsets.
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Brands are meeting audiences where they are
One of the main goals of marketing is to create a personalized connection. In previous years, the most effective way to achieve this was through live events that prompted active participation. With the ongoing pandemic, however, brands had to customers through digital means.
Over the past couple of years, brands have been finding ways to position themselves inside the metaverse experiences that have increasingly captured the attention of their target market. As people increasingly turned to digital means for entertainment, many turned to gaming platforms like Roblox, which grew from 146 million active monthly users in April 2020 to 202 million a year later. The gamer demographic also includes the members of Gen Z that brands are increasingly interested in winning over.
Companies are capitalizing on the growing market for digital purchases
As shopping in the metaverse takes off, virtual stores are generating real streams of income. In fact, a new study from Obsess, called The Metaverse Mindset: Consumer Shopping Insights, found that 25% of consumers have shopped online in a 3D virtual store. Out of the shoppers, 70% made a purchase.
The study further explained that who shop in 3D virtual stores find it to be a positive experience due to its engaging qualities. Most said they would do it again with 54% from Gen Z, 58% for millennials and 67% of Gen X looking to engage further.
While members of the older generations feel more positively about metaverse shopping experiences than the younger generations, they are not nearly as enthusiastic about exploring branded worlds or video games in the metaverse.
When asked about branded online videogames, 51% of Gen Zers and 44% of millennials said they would be very interested in engaging with them. That is only somewhat higher than the 41% of Gen Zers and 38% of millennials who indicated interest in exploring branded metaverse environments. But there is no mention of Gen X’s attitude on these experiences at all.
When it comes to purchases for digital items, the younger generation dominates. While 62% of respondents admitted to have purchased something for their avatars, the percentage jumps to 74% for members of Gen Z. Likely they make up nearly all of the 52% who said they’d be willing to pay up to $49.99 for a virtual item to use in a video game.
Brands are creating branded virtual worlds and experiences to entice younger generations
Fashion brands have embraced the metaverse to showcase their wares and offer their customers the chance to purchase digital versions for their avatars. Sneaker brands that appeal to young customers are a natural fit, and so Roblox now is home to both NIKELAN and Vans World.
Even exclusive brands are able to become more accessible to potential customers by inviting them to experience their wares in digital form at a price point most could afford. For instance, Gucci introduced sneaker designs that exist solely in virtual form. The Gucci Virtual 25 can be projected onto your feet via augmented reality.
The shoe always fits when it’s virtual, as you can see here:
The Verge reports that the shoes that could be purchased for $12.99 from Gucci’s app can also be virtually worn on an avatar in partnered apps like Roblox and VRChat. In an interview with TechCrunch, Gucci CMO Robert Triefus said that it “has been redefining its approachability as it extends its reach to digital platforms like Roblox — which the company sees as an opportunity that’s growing too quickly to ignore.”
The same kind of thinking motivated Ralph Lauren to venture on to Roblox to connect with Gen Z customers. As reported in FashionUnited, at this year’s National Retail Federation’s conference, Ralph Lauren’s CEO, Patrice Louvet, said the metaverse offers “a fantastic opportunity to interact with younger consumers, to create experiences.”
He explained, “You can get into Roblox and get your avatar to have a virtual coffee at a virtual RL coffee shop, create a virtual outfit on Zepeto, or visit the Madison store virtually.”
Those virtual outfit sales already exceed 100,000 units. Items listed for sale on Zepeto are priced in ZEMs, which is the platform’s digital currency; Charged reports that prices range from $0.57 to $2.86 a piece.
In light of the Obsess study, the majority of those purchases were likely made by members of Gen Z. Luxury brands that may be beyond their financial reach now are becoming familiar to them through their virtual version.
By selling to customers in the digital realm, the brand is creating customers for the virtual goods who could become customers for the physical goods down the road. Their loyalty to the brand is already nurtured through the relationship established in the metaverse.
We’re living in the metaverse and brands are running to catch customers to offer a new virtual experience. While the alternate reality feels like we’ve reached peak innovation, there’s plenty more to come. Head on over to PostFunnel for the latest updates in all things marketing.