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Shopping in the metaverse

One in four consumers say they use the metaverse

Metaverse as a shopping channel is still in early stages. Anyway, 26% have used the platform for entertainment, virtual experiences or purchasing products in 2022, consultancy PwC’s global consumer survey shows.

With one in four consumers using the Metaverse indicates that the technology is becoming a more prominent part of the consumer experience. Although macroeconomic factors in today’s marketplace may impact consumers in the short term, the future remains increasingly bright for the technology, says Roberto Hernandez, the company’s Global Metaverse Leader. The survey comprises more than 9 000 consumers in 25 territories.

“The largest portion of these users have primarily employed the Metaverse for virtual reality (VR), i.e, playing games or watching a movie (10%), joining a virtual world, i.e, experience a retail environment or concert (9%), or purchasing a digital product, such as a Non-Fungible Token, or NFT (9%)”, the PwC survey shows. 

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“Those most likely to engage in metaverse-related activities: India (48%), Vietnam (43%), and Hong Kong (42%), as well as Millennials (36%).”

The survey also shows that consumers are increasingly weary of data privacy. 47% say they are extremely or very concerned when interacting with social media companies, third-party/portal travel websites (36%), healthcare (34%), and consumer companies (32%). 

“Countries including India and the Philippines are most concerned across such categories. As a result, almost half (49%) say they don’t share more personal data than they have to, 32% opt-out from receiving communications from these companies, and 26% have overall reduced their interaction with these types of companies.” 

“As an immersive digital platform, the Metaverse represents a significant opportunity for business transformation, particularly as a way to extend the shopping experience before and after a purchase takes place and to enhance the engagement with younger generations such as Gen Z customers, which are looking for more engaging and community connected experiences. At the same time, consumers are increasingly cautious of their data privacy, so retailers must ensure they are reflecting consumer attitudes in their immersive experiences if they are to see growth in online consumption”, Hernandez said. 

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PwC says consumers expect little change in their shopping channel habits across online, in-store and click and collect in the next six months. In-store shopping remains largely stationary year-on-year as the most common medium of consumption in 2022 (43%), whereas use of mobiles/smartphones (34%), PCs (23%), and tablet consumption (15%) have all marginally declined. 

“The survey finds there is a continuing trend in consumers stating they never purchase products via tablets (51%), smart home voice assistance (64%) and wearable devices (71%). These numbers are all on the rise since the last PwC Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey in June 2022.”

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