What Is Mobile Metaverse & How Will It Affect Fashion Marketing?
If you have been reading about Metaverse¹ , most pop culture and tech blogs have it wrong. This article promises to provide the most relevant explanation of what Metaverse is for Gen Z and what it wants to become for the Alpha generation.
What is the Mobile Metaverse
Metaverse is not like the movie — Ready player one. It wants to be, but it isn’t there.
Metaverse promises an immersive experience. An unpopular opinion, it will not be through AR/VR. At least not for the next five years. The technology is underdeveloped and, even at a premium price, it cannot deliver what it promises in ads. We all have tried the VR experiences sold in malls. While some of that virtual roller coaster rides evoked a feeling of motion sickness in me, I was not 100% immersed.
Microsoft has launched its VR gear — Oculus². It is by far the best there is, but its still costly for general public.
How will the mobile metaverse change the internet? (Metaverse Reality)
We, Gen Z, will likely experience most of the Metaverse via our mobile devices. We are already there — via mobile games like PUBG, Minecraft or, Fortnite.
We are interacting with unknown players in a virtual 3D environment.
Metaverse will continue the gaming experience. The beginning of Metaverse will be similar to that of a giant gaming parlor.
In this game, we enter by choosing the Avatars. Without any exclusivity except for commands, at the beginning of a game the avatar has no purchases because it doesn’t need them. It does only things that the players want to do and after doing it for long enough, it will take on its own personality. The player can then start to buy things for their avatar like clothes or accessories to acquire them faster and make them more powerful. In general enhance the gaming experience.
he 2017 mobile game Fortnite³ made $50 million in revenue, with just 15 NFL skins. In-game, these skins are exchanged for up to $20 each. To date, 10 million copies have been sold — Forbes.
Currently there is no way for the gaming community to receive social gratification other than with their own friends. Metaverse will allow them to be recognized by their avatar any time, without restrictions of game category.
Where do Non-gamers fit in Metaverse?
Metaverse is good for non-gamers in addition to gamers because it will offer plenty of activities for people who don’t play games.
In my opinion, as retail brands continue to get creative about Metaverse, adoption will increase.
Starbucks is a luxury brand I associate with, and I enjoy people seeing me drinking from their coffee mugs. This trend did especially well on social media platforms such as Instagram. Starbucks is trying to extend this marketing flex to Metaverse. They have opened Starbucks stores in Zepeto Mobile Metaverse. Zepeto is Metaverse mobile application, operational in South Korea.
Luxury retailers are already making clothes for avatars in the digital world. Nike, Gucci and Ralph Lauren are a few in the lead.
Sportswear giant Nike took its forays into the metaverse by paying an undisclosed amount to buy the NFT studio and virtual sneaker designer RTFKT. Nike also created its digital environment on Roblox where it can test product launches with consumers before a physical release.
Last summer, Ralph Lauren launched its inaugural collection of digital apparel on Zepeto.
The Metaverse will be an immersive virtual world fueled by the stratification of society, but various modern solutions such as shopping for clothes online will also help it grow.
You can scan or map your measurements onto your avatar in Metaverse and find clothes that fit you easily. This seems like a unique solution to the return problem that’s common among apparel retailers.
It also opens up a thought — In reality, will Metaverse and real social life will be co-dependent or will one be a parasite ? Do share your thoughts in the comments
Metaverse is the tide NFT was waiting for.
Metaverse will be all about digital collectibles. The person who owns the first tweet⁴ ever or famous animated Flying Cat⁵ with a Pop-Tart body will have a digital social — marketplace to show off their bling. To us average people, it would be virtual baseball cards, paintings, etc.
NFT tokens will help provide the right legislation and authority to prove ownership. People can trade or bring their virtual assets to display using NFT tokens. NFT token is a digital certificate maintained over blockchain, it suggests verifiable ownership. To know more about NFT, check out this blog: Best explained NFT & crypto art.
Cryptocurrency is the third wheel
The essentiality of cryptocurrency for the survival of Metaverse is debatable. Everyone is trying to come up with their own virtual currency with no regulation for exchange. The Starbucks coins won’t be of any value at a GAP store in the Metaverse. Unless a single cryptocurrency rises to be a supreme standard of conversion, our existing payment gateways will do the job just fine.
I firmly believe, the future of Metaverse will be mobile. It is perfect for mobile devices and AR/VR are just not ready for mass adoption. In the future, I believe that there will be a huge amount of people using mobile devices to access the Metaverse. This will be the first step to a more advanced Metaverse.
If you agree with my views, please share your appreciation through likes and comments.
References:
¹Metaverse: What is Metaverse
²Oculus: Microsoft launched VR gear
³Fortnite: Flagship product by Epic Games
⁴First tweet: The first ever tweet from founders is selling as NFT
⁵Flying cat NFT: Flying cats NFT sold for $600,000
