Market Research & the Metaverse: What Does the Future Hold?
With the rapid development of internet and technology in recent years, we’ve seen the emergence of innovative new platforms that boast exciting ways of connecting with others – the metaverse being one such example. This entrance has got people wondering about how social connection might look in the future. Important questions arise, such as:
How will people interact with the metaverse?
Does it have a long way to go before this platform becomes ubiquitous?
In what ways will the material world be impacted by the metaverse?
Business and consumption in the metaverse: how will they be affected?
Market research and digital advertising in the metaverse: how can they be combined?
It’s impossible to know exactly how this new platform will change how individuals and businesses operate, but it’s interesting to speculate. We could be standing on the edge of a major shift, like the effects of social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Only time will tell what changes this new platform will bring.
What is Metaverse?
The metaverse is a virtual reality (VR) network where users can join and interact with others in a variety of ways. Individuals access the metaverse by wearing a VR headset, which immerses them in a computer-generated environment. In the metaverse, people can do many things, such as playing games, talking in chat rooms, and building digital worlds. The Metaverse is constantly growing and evolving, giving users more and more options for how they want to spend their time in this virtual space. Each user has an avatar, which is a digital representation of themselves. This avatar can be customized to look however the user wants, and can be either a realistic or exaggerated version of the person’s real-life identity.
Market research with the metaverse
The metaverse will have a profound impact on how we socialize, but it will also change other fields that we may not expect, such as market research. The following examples are not in place yet, but they show how the metaverse could improve the market research process.
Qualitative research and virtual focus groups
Virtual focus groups and interviews are an interesting avenue for market research that is becoming more popular. Instead of meeting on Zoom, as many companies do, individuals can interact with their interviewees through the metaverse. This makes respondents feel more comfortable, as they can maintain their anonymity while still feeling a person-to-person connection with the interviewer. Furthermore, potentially standardizing all avatars to look a certain way may limit the implicit bias of the interviewer because aspects of the respondent’s identity don’t need to be specified.
Meetings with clients via virtual technology
Social interaction in the metaverse can also take the form of virtual meetings with clients. The metaverse has the potential to make these meetings more personable than Zoom, while still managing to eliminate bias. This is especially important in the age when clients and vendors meet less often in person. The metaverse could function as a better substitute than Zoom for these meetings.
Surveying in a New Way
One way to survey people in the metaverse is through virtual product testing. This means having users enter a virtual supermarket and monitoring which products they would purchase on an average shopping trip. Different simulations could include various iterations of the product design. Instead of simply asking participants what items they would choose to purchase, one could get a more realistic understanding of habits and brand perception by seeing how people act in a simulated setting.
Increased Market segmentation opportunities
The introduction of the metaverse means that there is a whole new market of people to target with marketing efforts. This could help businesses with product differentiation and brand awareness among a new population segment. For example, companies could pay to have their product placed at a virtual event or integrated into a game.
A rediscovery of universal truths
With the rise in popularity of the metaverse, it will be interesting to explore the ways in which users engage with products online as opposed to in virtual reality. For example, people typically purchase products that reflect their self-perception. In the metaverse however, users have the opportunity to choose a new avatar and persona – it will be intriguing to see how this impacts product choice.
Conclusion
As the metaverse changes how people interact with their environment, it opens up new opportunities for market research and business development. For example, as we continue to transition more interactions and services online, there may be a pendulum swing back to in-person socialization. Additionally, digital product testing might not be applicable to the material world, given users’ perception of the metaverse as intrinsically fantastical. However, the possibilities are endless now, and the metaverse might be the next big thing.
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