The metaverse is coming, and it's going to change everything

The metaverse is coming, and it’s going to change everything. “The metaverse… lies at the intersection of human physical interaction and what could be done with digital innovation,” says Paul von Autenried, CIO at Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co. in the Wall Street Journal.

But what is the metaverse really, and what does it mean for your brand?

In theory, the metaverse will be a ubiquitous digital reality that combines different digital spaces into one, overarching space. This creates a new world where people can both interact and engage in commerce, among myriad other activities.

As big tech companies continue to invest in the metaverse, B2C business leaders are struggling to understand what it means for their brands. Just as the advent of the internet disrupted B2C verticals—with clear winners and losers—some B2C companies will fare better in the metaverse than others.

In this article, we explore the opportunities and challenges that the metaverse presents for B2C businesses. We also provide insights on how business leaders can strategize and prepare for these changes. With the right strategic approach, your B2C company can start strong in this new, unpredictable digital paradigm.

Origins of the Metaverse

The metaverse was first conceived in the early 1990s by Neal Stephenson, author of the cyberpunk novel Snow Crash. In it, he described a virtual world that people could inhabit to escape the mundane realities of their lives.

Fast-forward to today, and we are seeing this concept come to fruition with companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple all investing in foundational patents and technologies that might support it. Commercially, they hope to engage consumers and keep them locked into their ecosystems.

How Consumers Will Experience the Metaverse

In theory, the metaverse offers countless advantages for everyday people. For one, it provides distractions from the real world, and new ways to connect. This could be in the form of a evolved social media formats, where people can interact with friends and family in more dynamic, experiential ways.

Users may access the metaverse via a virtual reality platform like Oculus Rift or Vive by HTC, which allow people to experience other worlds, gaming, and even other cultures. In time, the metaverse may become an important part of people's everyday lives, supporting all kinds of imaginative forms of engagement.

Those include new ways for consumers to engage in commerce. This could be in the form of an online store that allows customers to purchase products or services. Or it could be in the form of a customer service portal where people can acquire services or get technical support for purchases.

Already, some of the world’s biggest retailers are securing digital assets for future metaverse investments. In December 2021, Walmart filed several patents aligned with retail in a future metaverse, “including one for a Walmart-branded cryptocurrency and others for ‘virtual merchandise’ and non- fungible tokens (NFTs),” The Motley Fool reports. Even so, the metaverse is still in its early stages; there are countless unknowns about how it will evolve.

Potential Business Advantages in the Metaverse

For starters, the metaverse may support opportunities for brands to create immersive experiences that go beyond what's possible on current digital platforms. For retailers, that means “engaging with the consumers at the right time, on the media channel they prefer, and with the right content,” The Wall Street Journal describes, with scope and dimensions that vastly exceed what digital supports today.

Brands may also use the metaverse to create virtual stores that allow customers to purchase products and services. This could be done several ways, including through VR or augmented reality platforms. Brands can be more seamless in how they blend digital experiences as well. For example, they might borrow elements from gaming platforms to enhance how they interact with consumers.

The metaverse also provides opportunities to improve their remote and digital customer service experiences. Brands can create portals where customers can get help with their purchases or troubleshoot problems, for example. “Five Guys could create a virtual restaurant where customers can check out the menu, speak to a customer service avatar, and order food through DoorDash or Uber Eats,” as Entrepreneur describes. “The possibilities are endless.”

In addition, the metaverse can be used to create social media platforms that are dedicated to specific brands. These platforms could provide an immersive customer experience that go beyond the confines of a third-party social media platform, enabling brands to engage with customers in deeper ways.

How the Metaverse Will Impact Consumer Industries

It’s difficult to conceive what this will look like in practice across consumer-facing industries. But here are a few ways the metaverse could shape specific industries that service everyday people:

Clarity in Consumer Banking

Banks could create new ways for customers to interact with their finances. For example, banks could create VR or augmented reality experiences that allow people to explore and interact with virtual representations of their accounts, investment options, and complex financial details like those found in loan agreements. This would give customers a more immersive experience and could provide them with a better understanding of their financial health.

Immersive Planning in Consumer Travel

Travel companies could use the metaverse to create new ways for customers to plan and experience their future travels. For example, they could create virtual representations of tourist destinations that allow people to explore them in VR before they go. This would give customers a better idea of what to expect and could help them make better decisions about where to go and how to prepare.

Consumer Engagement in Retail

Retailers could use the metaverse to create new ways for customers to interact with their products. For example, they could create virtual stores that allow customers to “try on” clothes or shoes before they buy them. This may help reduce the amount of returns that retailers experience.

In addition, retailers could use the metaverse to create experiences that go beyond what's possible with current digital platforms. For example, they could create interactive product demonstrations that allow customers to explore the features of a product. This would give customers a better understanding of what they are buying and could lead to purchases retailers might have lost using current digital platforms.

Better Accessibility in Healthcare

Healthcare is not a B2C industry per se. But in time, the metaverse may impact even sensitive, highly personal industries like healthcare. For example, healthcare providers could use the metaverse to create new ways for patients to interact with their doctors. This could include virtual meetings or consultations in which patients can see and talk to their doctor from the comfort of their home.

In addition, healthcare providers could use the metaverse to create new ways for patients to learn about their conditions. For example, they could create virtual representations of the human body that allow people to explore and learn about their own anatomy. This could help people make more
informed decisions about treatment.

Potential Challenges for B2C Companies

The metaverse also poses several challenges for B2C businesses. For one, the metaverse will likely become a crowded place in terms of brands. It's difficult to stand out in a world where anyone can create a virtual space, presumably of any “size.”

But generally, it’s difficult to predict how potential customers will approach and engage in this new environment. There are no analytics data on how consumers will use the metaverse the way analytics drives B2C industries today. Brands that succeed in the metaverse will need to create immersive experiences that are novel, engaging, and rich in value for consumers to participate.

How to Prepare for Metaverse Adoption

There are ways B2C companies can prepare for the metaverse, even without a clear picture as to how they will proceed. To start, they must begin theorizing how they can create immersive experiences that keep customers engaged. This may require changes in marketing, product development, and even company culture. Starting with the basics means understanding and aligning with hardware and digital platforms for creating virtual spaces before the metaverse becomes mainstream.

In addition, brands should begin exploring tech providers’ plans and hypotheses about the metaverse now to get a sense of what’s possible. For example, some experts believe the metaverse will be highly decentralized, with minimal friction between ecosystems due to the inherent interoperability of blockchain, as Forbes describes. This would allow for “the transfer of assets, including cryptocurrencies, utility tokens, and NFTs” between commercial environments.

Where possible, B2C companies should begin building relationships with Big Tech companies. These companies are likely to be key players in the metaverse and will have valuable insights on how to succeed there. For example, interoperability may require that companies “release their control over proprietary formats, or otherwise adopt wholly open-source ones,” as WIRED reports. There will be some necessary adaptation and integration for brands to achieve this.

Conclusion

Digital disruption is nothing new for B2C companies. But just like the advent of internet commerce in the 1990s, the metaverse is untested. There are advantages to being either bullish or cautious about becoming an early adopter in terms of your brand. No matter your approach, it’s through partnerships, adding value, and creating a detailed strategy with built-in flexibility that B2C brands are most likely to succeed.

Partner with Semifly for Your Future Digital Strategy

The consultants at Semifly can help you prepare your digital strategy for the metaverse as more details and strategic options come into focus. Contact a digital strategy expert and begin your journey today.