You have done enough online shopping to know it inside and out. Buying something online is no longer challenging. You go to your website of choice, find the product, click a few buttons and you’re done. You are so good that you can do all your online shopping with nothing more than a phone. But are you prepared for shopping in the metaverse?
Metaverse shopping is the next e-commerce frontier. E-commerce is already heading in that direction. Slowly but surely, tech companies are upping the game by giving retailers access to more powerful virtual tools. Best of all, customers are responding.
Basics of the Metaverse
Metaverse shopping is not yet the norm because most people are not even familiar with the metaverse itself. The easiest way to understand the metaverse is to imagine constructing a 3D model of your home on a computer. Then, using a virtual headset, you enter that model home and make your way around.
In the metaverse, you are not just viewing virtual spaces. You are interacting in those spaces. So in your virtual home, you can walk into the kitchen and cook a virtual meal. You can look through the clothes in your virtual closet. You can even try the clothes on.
Those developers driving the metaverse envision a world in which virtually anything can be done online. Remote workers can virtually interact in real time without the need for video conferencing software. Patients can take advantage of virtual visits with their doctors. Consumers can even shop at virtual shopping centers through an experience that is nearly identical to traditional retail, except in a virtual environment.
Filling in E-Commerce Gaps
Understanding the future of metaverse shopping requires a basic understanding of why it is being pursued. Here’s the deal: as fantastic as online shopping is, there are certain gaps in the experience. Take shopping for clothes. You cannot try them on when you’re buying online. So you either take your chances or you order multiple sizes and then return the ones that don’t fit.
This sort of experience is a hassle for you. It is also a financial headache for retailers. Returns cost them valuable time and financial resources. They want to eliminate returns as much as possible.
In the metaverse, you build an avatar according to your actual physical attributes. The avatar mimics your height, weight, shoe size, etc. Even the face looks realistic. Using a realistic avatar in the metaverse lets you try on clothing before you buy it. You get to see exactly what it looks like in a virtual setting. More importantly, you get to see whether it actually fits.
Not Everything Will Change
There are certain parts of the e-commerce experience that will not change with metaverse shopping. Shipping is a good example. There isn’t much the metaverse can do to improve what Texas-based Preferred Shipping does as an authorized DHL reseller. Shipping cannot be replicated virtually for obvious reasons.
Online payments will not change so much, either. You might experience a virtual representation of paying with your credit card, but the actual function should remain the same. Payments are not something that can be dramatically enhanced in the VR world.
What can be improved through virtual experience will be in the years ahead. The metaverse is the next frontier for e-commerce, and it is a frontier that is currently under aggressive development. Many e-commerce retailers are ready to embrace the metaverse now. They are just waiting for it to be ready to go.
What do you think? Is metaverse shopping something that interests you? It is coming one way or another.
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