How Brands & Retailers Can Establish Themselves in the Metaverse & Virtual Worlds

Available for free, this PSFK guide is a metaverse business strategy report that outlines the key building blocks of the metaverse economy with a focus on creating tools and services for a diverse community of consumers and creators.

Executive Summary

The metaverse along with web3 and crypto/blockchain offers the promise and possibility of decentralization, interoperability, collective ownership, and trust being embedded into the foundations of this emerging digital landscape. At the same time, it opens the door to new modes of personal expression, accessibility, and economic opportunity for the community of users but only if these progressive values are embedded into the architecture and infrastructure that will power these virtual worlds.

Report Overview

Through the lens of eight trends, you’ll discover key building blocks of the metaverse economy with a focus on creating tools and services for a diverse community of consumers and creators. In particular, in this metaverse business strategy report, ‘Foundational Initiatives for the Metaverse’, we look at the ways diversity, equity, and inclusion are being architected into virtual worlds from their inception and the critical ways that companies can get involved.

What You’ll Learn In This Report

• Why the metaverse will require a much different approach than those taken when creating previous iterations of the internet, social platforms, and technologies.
• How metaverse leaders and builders will need to reflect the diversity of the global audience they hope to attract, ensuring that the overall experience is inclusive, equitable, safe, and welcoming for everyone.
• Why a range of efforts is underway to establish codes of conduct that protect against fraudulent activity and harassment, develop tools and assets that empower any user to show up in these virtual worlds as their most authentic self, and cultivate emerging talent with incubators and funds.
• Why new marketplaces and revenue-generating models aee expanding people’s ability to earn incomes and thrive as they participate in the burgeoning digital economy.
• Why brands and businesses very much have a role to play as partners, facilitators and champions of these initiatives to help drive awareness and uptake.

What’s In This Report?

We deep dive into the foundational elements that must be considered when developing a metaverse business strategy.

This metaverse business strategy report provides:

• 8 metaverse business strategies emerging in the Metaverse around inclusion, safety, work and ownership
• 26 best-in-class examples of how brands, retailers and platforms are working to make the metaverse a more inclusive, safe and equitable environment to play, learn and work.
• Proprietary statistics from PSFK Metaverse & Brands Study US, March 2022
• Consumer insights into changing behaviors and expectations around Metaverse user experience
• Case studies from Snap, Meta, Magic Eden, and many more new DAOs and NFT platforms

Watch a Presentation of the Research + Expert Interviews

This video includes a presentation of key insights in this metaverse business strategy report plus expert discussion with Liz Bacelar of Estée Lauder Companies and Alan Smithson of MetaVRse.

Original Insights & Statistics In This Report

• Many users want the makers of virtual worlds to support DEI measures. Over 55% of US adult virtual world users said that it was important that the virtual worlds they use support diversity, inclusivity, and equity.
• Virtual world and digital fashion makers still need to improve the options for users to represent themselves. Only 55% of US adult virtual world users agree or strongly agree that virtual worlds allow them to create an avatar in their likeness. This finding is similar for both male and female respondents.
• Visiting virtual worlds comes with risks in terms of harassment, especially for women. 50% of adult virtual world users feel that compromised, unsafe or violated in a virtual world experience some of the time or even more often. This figure rose to 65% for female users.
• Many users want to have the opportunity to trade and make money in virtual worlds. Over half of US adult virtual world users want to make money by selling or renting digital objects in virtual worlds.

Who Prepared This Report?

This metaverse business strategy report was developed by the same PSFK research department that since 2004 has provided trends-led innovation consulting advice to Apple, BMW, Facebook/Meta, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and Volkswagen