The Metaverse and What Means for Luxury E-commerce?

 

Luxury E-commerce have been thinking for a long time about the ways in which online marketplaces can boost sales. That’s why, in October in the year that Mark Zuckerberg revealed that Facebook was changing its name with the intention of creating a “metaverse,” did it signal the rise of the next generation of online shopping?

In the past two years the performance of online shopping platforms made the main factor in determining whether retail survives growth, destruction, and survival. For the foreseeable future, this will likely remain the situation.

The increasing importance of Luxury E-commerce is, obviously because of the effects of the epidemic. The newly enforced behavioral changes (such as those imposed by the government in response to COVID-19) can increase the speed of new customs.

In 2003 in 2003, it was the year 2003 that the SARS epidemic in Asia was the catalyst for the growth of the world’s biggest e-commerce players. As Deloitte points out, the explosive development that has been experienced by Alibaba and JD.com that migrated their businesses online from offline online in the SARS quarantine can be traced back to this time. Both are one of the top ten retailers.

In reality, 2003 can be considered to be the initial edition of the concept of e-commerce. The year 2020, which was the year the pandemic caused the rapid expansion of the e-commerce industry can be regarded as the second major period of online shopping. This time around we witnessed the first time, the habitual and large-scale online buying of food items and the phenomenal expansion of Amazon. In the UK during the height of online transactions, more than one third of all retail transactions were made via the internet.

Is there a metaverse?

Marketers might have thought about the possibility of virtual and virtual reality. I’ll talk about later how luxury brands have smartly, begun exploring the possibilities of these sectors. However, the Facebook Metaverse, at least as per Zuckerberg is something far more extensive.

During his talk during the Facebook Connect event, Zuckerberg mentioned commerce and shopping several times while discussing his vision for the metaverse. Then, he told The Verge that, “it is the metaverse that is a touchstone for many of the major issues we’re currently working on. Think of things such as community and creators as one thing, or digital commerce as a secondary or establishing the next generation of computing platforms, such as virtual and augmented reality to give people a sense of being in the present.”

The rhetoric, as well as the video featured at Facebook’s Facebook event, which showed that metaverse users have the option of becoming robots inside spacecrafts or take on the form of avatars in real life is a promise of a wildly personalized future. Vishal Shah, who was introduced by Zuckerberg as the head of Metaverse Products, says: “Our goal is to provide a way for as many creators as possible to build a business in the metaverse.”

The key word is goal. The majority of the information Zuckerberg described was only a speculative idea and the technology required may take years to become reality. Although some marketers were intrigued by the idea, others saw the whole thing as an attempt to alter the negative perception which has surrounded the activities of Facebook.

The luxury of the digital world

The best method for luxury retailers and brands to view the metaverse is to see it as symbolic. It’s unlikely that in the short to medium term it will be possible to explore the fantasy world created by Zuckerberg. However, what it represents is a new opportunity for online shopping, an interest of the public for new ways to shop and the future of electronic commerce.

In 2019, based on an extensive survey databank, Google reported that 66 percent of shoppers are keen to utilize AR when they shop. Shopify discovered that products that made use of 3D or AR (augmented reality) technology resulted in an 94 percent more conversion rate than the ones that did not.

What is the reason for such a high percentage? because, as of now the features are an element of novelty that seems to draw buyers. Although improved e-commerce options are becoming more popular but they’re still in the early stages. Integrating them today could give you a an important competitive advantage.

One of the most obvious benefits that fashion brands with luxury labels can use is digitalized fashion or virtual fitting areas. Recent acquisitions of the clothing trial startup Zeekit from Walmart is a further indicator of both the direction as well as potential for customers of e-commerce in virtual worlds. When the biggest store-based retailer in the US accepts the concept of virtual Luxury E-commerce it is a sign of an actual and tangible improvement.

Walmart joins Google who has launched the AR (Augmented Reality) try-on tool in December last year. Snapchat that bought an outfit recommendation firm Fit Analytics this March, to enter the world of fashion online. Why is there a focus on trying-on tools?

Take into consideration that within the US alone the value of $428 billion of merchandise was returned to the point of purchase. The most important question that luxury retailers need to be asking is: what savings could be made by reducing the frequency of returns?

Gucci’s shift to electronic versions of their online games (Drest, Tennis Clash, Genies) is an intriguing new development. It’s essential and smart to explore new markets and ensure that Gucci will remain the same as what people want from it and be an ingenuous luxury fashion brand that combines luxury materials with stunning style.

In a turbulent fast-changing, uncertain market, the long-term viability of the most prestigious fashion houses is not guaranteed. This kind of innovative e-commerce will bring the flight of imagination envisioned by Zuckerberg to the present through means of new and essential digital revenue streams.

Brands that are renowned for their Luxury E-commerce need not be waiting for the imaginary metaverses A new way to enter online shopping is now open to brands that dare to enter it.