The Metaverse: What Amazon vendors and sellers need to know
"Metaverse" seems to be the go-to buzzword in 2022. Facebook's rebranding as Meta certainly did a lot to drive the conversation, but the concept is bigger than one company's name change. In fact, the metaverse could have major implications for Amazon sellers and vendors in the near future.
If you're an ecommerce company that works with Amazon in any way, you would be wise to monitor the developments of the metaverse and look for opportunities to get your company involved in this concept. Here’s what you should know.
What Is the Metaverse?
The metaverse refers to a virtual world in which people can interact with each other in a digital environment, rather than the physical world. It's actually not a new idea; the video game Second Life pioneered the concept way back in 2003. In that game, people could create an avatar and wander around an online virtual world, interacting with other people in that world.
Now, tech giants are going all-in on the concept, seeing it as a way to revolutionize how humans interact — and shop.
Why Are Companies Like Amazon So Big On the Metaverse Now?
Second Life came out nearly 20 years ago, so it begs the question why all of the sudden Amazon is all about the metaverse now. The simple answer is because of how the online shopping experience has evolved in recent years.
In the past, shipping products was all fine and good as long as you knew exactly what you wanted and didn't care about waiting for it to be delivered. But for everything else, people still wanted to go to a brick-and-mortar store so they could physically hold items in their hands and figure out if this is the product they wanted. The online shopping experience just couldn't replicate that.
Thanks to websites like Amazon, shopping online has gotten even more convenient, easy, and inexpensive. But brick-and-mortar stores still held the edge in that one area. Now, however, Amazon and other companies see the metaverse as an opportunity to change that.
The metaverse allows customers to pick up and try out products in the digital world without having to go to a physical store. While it may not work for everything — it's hard to try on a dress digitally, after all — it could be all customers need for many other kinds of products. And as the technology improves, Amazon hopes that the metaverse could become a one-stop shopping location for any product.
What's Next, and What's In It for Amazon Vendors and Sellers?
Bank of America estimates that the global metaverse market could hit $800 billion by the mid-2020s, so this is a rapidly growing industry.
Amazon has already started working on metaverse technology. They have created the augmented reality Room Decorator shopping tool that allows customers to see what new furniture or other home decorations would look like before they buy them.
As Amazon expands its metaverse options, vendors and sellers would be wise to jump on board at the earliest opportunity and even look into designing their own virtual showrooms and customer tools. A virtual shopping experience could increase customer satisfaction while reducing returns, and it will allow you to customize the shopping experience for your customers and expand your customer base. You'll also better be able to interact with customers and therefore develop strong, lasting relationships with them.
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