Consulting company Capgemini has released a report showing that even with the current ‘tech winter’, consumer interest in the blockchain-enabled metaverse remains high.
The report reveals that 93% of consumers are curious about the metaverse, and the majority said they would adopt the metaverse as it becomes more accessible to them.
The consumer interest in the metaverse is mainly focused on social interaction and commerce, with the survey also highlighting that 77% of consumers expect immersive experiences to impact how they interact with people, brands and services.
The results from organizations were also optimistic, with 70% of companies saying that they believe immersive experiences will be a key differentiator in their markets, especially concerning the customer journey. This is particularly the case for retail shopping and high-engagement products such as cars, furniture, household electronics, etc.
These findings could explain the recent surge in metaverse trademark applications in 2022 from brands such as BMW. In addition, various brands have recently made major investments and launched metaverse-related projects. For instance, luxury watchmaker Hublot launched a metaverse football stadium, car manufacturer Skoda launched the Skodaverse, whilst Gucci launched a metaverse event in The Sandbox.
What remains to be seen is how these organizations overcome the challenge of scalability for these projects. Corporate respondents in Capgemini’s research identified eight significant hurdles to adoption, including lack of management commitment and the technology and headsets needing more time to mature.
The survey also revealed some hard-hitting truths. Of the customers that have metaverse experience, 67% report that the metaverse is hostile to women, people of color, and sexual and gender minorities.
“We’re starting to see a more thoughtful and nuanced approach to designing immersive experiences, and the metaverse specifically,” said Charlton Monsanto, Global Immersive Experiences Offer Leader at Capgemini. “This report supports the notion that early interest in the consumer-facing metaverse, propelled by investments from major players, needs to give enough thought to the real challenges around ergonomics, accessibility, safety and privacy, which organizations are now working to address.”
Other consulting companies that are researching the prospects of the metaverse include EY, which expanded its team collaboration offering into the metaverse and launched a metaverse lab. Accenture onboarded 150,000 new team members in the metaverse during the pandemic.
