The world ‘metaverse’ has been making a lot of buzz, with a growing number of tech enthusiasms and brands highlighting this new landscape critical for the future of online and customer engagement.

The first definition of the metaverse emerged from author Neal Stephenson in his 1992 science-fiction novel, “Snow Crash”, which envisioned a 3D virtual world inhabited by avatars of real people.

Nearly three decades later, although definitions of this metaverse are still somewhat varied, experts agree that this new landscape will help bridge the gap between digital and real-world identities.

The “metaverse” is a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you. You’ll be able to hang out with friends, work, play, learn, shop, create and more. Meta (formerly known as Facebook)

Advocates of the metaverse often say that these attributes make up the metaverse:

Why the Metaverse Matters

Here are some facts on why brands should start caring about the metaverse:

Three Ways the Metaverse Can Shape Customer Experience

A positive customer experience is critical in driving sustainable business and brand growth. Positive customer engagement and experience promote brand loyalty and advocacy in all channels.

With the metaverse, brands need to reimagine the customer experience in a world of digital avatars, mixed reality, and physically accurate digital products.

Here are three ways that metaverse can shape customer experience for brands:

Create New Forms of Entertainment for Metazens*

One of the characteristics of the metaverse is the ability to create immersive experiences and make millions of digital avatars (or Metazens) coexist and engage in the metaverse environment.

One great example is the concert performed by the American rapper Travis Scott in the video game Fortnite attracting 27.7 million unique attendees — far more than a typical concert venue can accommodate.

Travis created immersive experiences and interactions with in-gamers, with many claiming that this kind of experience could only exist in a virtual space like this. One example was that the concert allowed avatars to float through the air while a Godzilla-sized Travis walked across an ocean.

But what I loved most about this example was the monetisation opportunities behind the metaverse experience.

Travis wore a virtual twin of his Jordan collaboration sneaker that goes for $500 to $1,000 on the resale market. He also created post-engagement and selling strategies, where after the show, each participant received a special perk to purchase a $65 Travis Scott x Fortnite Nerf in-game product for gaming.

Create Digital Products using Digital Twins

A digital twin is a virtual representation of a physical object or process. In the metaverse ecosystem, it can help create exact replicas of spaces and products and allow people to shop in the virtual space.

To commemorate the 100 years of the Italian house, Gucci created The Gucci Garden Experience on the global gaming platform Roblox. A digital fashion experience where visitors could move through different rooms and experience various Gucci campaigns of the past several years.

The visitors entered through a virtual lobby where their ageless and gender-neutral avatars could view, try on and purchase digital Gucci items. These items included digital iterations of eyewear, perfume bottles, hats and bags — all of which cost roughly US$5.

However, as these Gucci items were only available for a limited time, their resale value quickly skyrocketed. One example was the Gucci Dionysus Bag, which sold for roughly $4,115 more than its IRL version.

Outfitting digital personas is nothing new, from making pixelated Dollz in the early 2000s to shopping these days for new wardrobe additions in Animal Crossing. But what was interesting in this example is that metazens are willing to pay premium prices to acquire virtual possessions that are ‘just’ pixels.

Improve Phygital Customer Service and Support

We already know that omnichannel customer support is imperative for the modern customer experience.

By leveraging technology, e.g. AR and VR, brands can explore faster and more efficient customer service and support.

For example, using a VR headset, users could interact 24/7 with a support team represented by holograms. The hologram team can showcase an interactive digital catalogue, explain product details and perhaps provide a demo. Users wouldn’t need to contact a chatbot on the website, wait in long virtual queues, or write a long email. Instead, they get an immersive experience that brings their full attention and which is not possible in solely digital and physical worlds.

In 2019, the French bank BNP Paribas ran a trial to allow clients to chat with a holographic projection of members of its real estate, corporate, and institutional banking and wealth management teams to be at the forefront of customer experience.

To be clear, customers should not have to invest in VR headsets or enter the metaverse to obtain customer support, but leveraging the metaverse to explore ways to improve virtual and physical ‘phygital’ customer support, should be explored as a future and natural evolution of contact centres and customer service capabilities.

Implications for Brands

Despite the excitement of all possibilities of the metaverse, key areas need to be further developed and matured to enable its full potential for engagement, self-expression, and commerce.

Brands, metaverse platforms, tech and innovations partners will need to collaborate together in this new ecosystem and address the following questions:

The metaverse is still in its inception, but recent movements from different industries demonstrate it is becoming a gateway to innovative experiences for customers with great potential to scale communities and economic benefit.