Gadget lovers hold the key to the retail metaverse | WARC | The Feed

Gadget lovers hold the key to the retail metaverse

Around four in 10 consumer electronics shoppers in Europe and the US see the metaverse as essential to the future of shopping, new research suggests. 

That’s according to data from future retail agency Outform, based on more than 400 respondents – an outtake from a wider shopper study.

Why it matters

That gadget lovers should be keen to explore various aspects of the metaverse will not come as a surprise, but it’s still useful to gauge the extent of their interest in what remains a vague and undefined area in the eyes of many consumers.  

Gartner’s 2022 Hype Cycle showed web3 already at the peak of inflated expectations, with the metaverse still in the innovation trigger phase. One perhaps might have expected the latter to be further along the curve, given the publicity that accompanied the creation of Meta in late 2021 and the volume of discussion that followed.  

Or it may simply demonstrate how much work still needs to be done to advance metaverse concepts and bring them to fruition. It’s only then that the real work will start for marketers, but beforehand they can identify the early adopters who will be crucial to making the metaverse a real-world success.

Takeaways 

• 58% of consumer electronic shoppers are willing to shop through the metaverse. 

• 45% of this group believe exploring and evaluating products through the metaverse is the future of shopping. 
• 41% say that it will become the most convenient way to shop.
• 81% are willing to use AR tools in-store to explore and evaluate products; 73% say the same for VR.
• 67% expect virtual try-before-you-buy experiences so that they can test products.

Key quote

“We know gadget lovers are willing to queue early doors for the latest product drop and are eager to experiment with the newest innovations. Our study shows they’re ahead of the curve in how they shop too, with virtual technologies AR and VR now driving a greater propensity to purchase” – Simon Hathaway, Group MD EMEA at Outform.