Innovation in technology is one of the formidable aspects of supporting business leaders in developing new products or business transformations. The metaverse has evolved as a prolific technology innovation that can fuel many strategic business opportunities. The search for metaverse business opportunities has escalated profoundly after the involvement of big companies in metaverse projects became evident. A virtual world with features to allow people to explore digital spaces and interact with other users has many advantages suitable for developing businesses.
However, the feasibility of metaverse business ideas at a time when the metaverse itself is under development comes under the shadow of a doubt. At the same time, one cannot ignore the potential of the metaverse for growth in the future. The following discussion offers detailed insights on some of the most promising business opportunities you can explore with the metaverse.
What is the Metaverse in Business?
Many of you must have covered the definition of the metaverse before seeking the possible opportunities for business in the metaverse. The metaverse is a shared and persistent virtual space, which exists in real-time and emerges from the convergence of virtual reality and virtually enhanced physical reality. No single vendor would have complete control of the metaverse and the virtual environment would be device-independent. The interplay of the metaverse and business opportunities also becomes evident in the fact that the metaverse features an independent virtual economy. The metaverse economy runs on the power of non-fungible tokens or NFTs and digital currencies. Therefore, businesses can have the ideal foundation to explore new business ideas with the metaverse.
Most important of all, the answers to “What is the metaverse in business?” would also point toward the combination of different technologies, which build the metaverse. Some of the most prominent technologies underlying the metaverse include augmented reality or AR, Internet of Things or IoT, AR cloud, spatial technologies, and head-mounted displays. Tech experts have hailed the metaverse as the next-generation evolution of the internet, where websites become digital spaces in a virtual shared environment. Therefore, businesses can reap many rewards from the metaverse just like the internet and Web 2.0 facilitated the rise of e-commerce.
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What is Possible with the Metaverse in Business?
Yes, the metaverse has a lot of technologies underlying its foundation and is probably the next iteration of the internet. However, it is inevitable to wonder about the possibilities that businesses can explore in the new virtual space. The hype around the metaverse is undoubtedly unparalleled for any new technology trend. Many tech companies are already claiming that they are metaverse companies, while some are developing metaverse platforms for enhancing the virtual and physical realities of users. In addition, the feasibility of metaverse business opportunities relies largely on the execution of activities currently running in silos, in a single shared space. Here are some of the notable activities on the metaverse which can support new business opportunities.
- Shopping in virtual retail stores and malls with immersive e-commerce.
- Buying outfits, accessories, and other artifacts for digital avatars.
- Purchasing digital art, assets, and collectibles as NFTs.
- Interactions with users as digital avatars for customer service, employee onboarding, sales, service, and many other business communications.
- Participation in virtual social experiences.
- Purchasing digital real estate and development of virtual homes.
- Use of virtual classrooms for fuelling immersive learning experiences.
Most important of all, the business opportunities in the metaverse can make the most of decentralization, interoperability, collaboration, and a persistent environment. All of these traits can help businesses come up with strategic models to extend their digital business capabilities. With so many possibilities, it is reasonable to explore the possibilities for business in the metaverse.
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Business Opportunities in Metaverse
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The primary focus of any beginner seeking metaverse business ideas would be on the scope of opportunity. Can you build a business on the metaverse and how can it help you? The answers to such questions can easily draw you toward the various potential use cases of the metaverse. Here is an outline of the five most notable business ideas for the metaverse.
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Virtual Events
One of the first answers to “What are the business opportunities of a metaverse?” would point toward virtual events. In the course of the last two years, virtual events have become quite popular. The metaverse offers vital support for enabling improved integrated solutions with virtual events. With the help of the immersive experiences in the metaverse, virtual event planners can conduct events where attendees feel like they are physically present at the event. One of the most notable examples to showcase the potential of business opportunities in the metaverse with virtual events is Fortnite. Popular artists such as Travis Scott and Ariana Grande have performed in virtual concerts on Fortnite. Travis Scott performed on Fortnite in April 2020 as a digital avatar with almost 12 million fans in the audience as digital avatars in virtual space.
People wondering about “What is the metaverse in business?” when it comes to virtual events should also look up to industry experts. Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, has expressed positive views on the transition of virtual meetings from two-dimensional camera image grids to three-dimensional spaces with virtual avatars. The first benefit of the metaverse for enabling business opportunities in virtual events is accessibility. Almost anyone who purchases a ticket to a virtual concert can attend it without any physical or geographical limitations. As a result, businesses could leverage the benefits of improved audience participation in virtual events through the metaverse. At the same time, the metaverse also offers improved prospects for collecting audience data and assessment of audience behavior.
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Immersive Learning Experiences
The next significant entry among promising metaverse business ideas draws inspiration from the immersive experiences facilitated in the metaverse. Medical education, higher education, military applications, and many other sectors could use the metaverse to deliver more immersive learning experiences. Most important of all, businesses don’t have to build any infrastructure to enable an immersive learning experience as it is already available with the metaverse.
The applications of a metaverse in education would involve VR spaces as well as enabling layers of digital information over the real world through digital headsets. VR-based learning could help in improving the way students interact with different concepts and ideas. At the same time, the metaverse can also help in detecting errors easily alongside enabling easier updates in the curriculum. Most important of all, the metaverse business opportunities for education will offer immersive learning experiences without any language barriers.
The immersive learning experiences enabled by the metaverse can also serve as a vital business opportunity for military applications. For example, a Synthetic Training Environment in the metaverse based on augmented reality can offer a realistic and engaging training experience. The virtual spaces of the metaverse can recreate physically as well as mentally demanding real-life combat settings. The British Army has been working on the use of XR technology for facilitating virtual training scenarios. As a matter of fact, business opportunities in the metaverse for the military sector seem quite bright as many applications of virtual worlds are already evident in the military. However, the metaverse can offer a persistent network of virtual and live worlds which can fuel better prospects for virtual training.
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Immersive Shopping Experiences
The retail sector is the next big playground for exploring business opportunities pertaining to the metaverse. Businesses in the retail sector can capitalize on the opportunity of immersive shopping experiences with the metaverse. In addition, the metaverse can also serve as the ideal platform for the introduction of new and complex products. Many brands in the retail sector such as Alibaba, Zara, Balenciaga, Nike, and Louis Vuitton have already started experimenting with the metaverse. The answer to “What are the business opportunities of a metaverse?” in the case of the retail sector would revolve primarily around immersive shopping experiences.
Imagine visiting a fashion outlet in the metaverse as a digital avatar. You can explore the store and the products in it just like you are exploring the store in the real world. What difference does it make? Online shopping websites also let you look at the products. How is the metaverse any special? In the metaverse, you can wear the clothes and accessories in the fashion store on your digital avatar. As a result, you can also find out how a particular dress or pair of jeans fits you. On top of it, the combo of metaverse and business opportunities in the retail sector also offers the foundation for introducing new and complex products. For example, retailers could drop new collections and let customers try them virtually. As a result, retailers can also get timely and helpful feedback for product improvement with the immersive metaverse shopping experiences.
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Social Media
Another frontier that presents favorable grounds for many metaverse business opportunities is social media. Metaverse technology can serve as the ideal basis for new social media platforms with immersive experiences. Users could interact with other participants in social media metaverse platforms as digital avatars in diverse virtual spaces. The plans of Facebook for the metaverse with its rebranding to Meta clearly present favorable prospects for the growth of social media platforms.
Almost real-life social experiences are probably the next stage in the evolution of social media. The metaverse has everything required for creating independent virtual communities on social media with their own ecosystems. As a matter of fact, the social media metaverse can help people talk to their friends in the same room even if they are miles apart. Imagine discussing the latest trends in music in a virtual space with your friends on a social metaverse as digital avatars. It definitely offers a promising advantage over conventional video and voice communication, doesn’t it?
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Employee Engagement
The final and probably the most crucial entry among metaverse business ideas would focus on employee engagement. Enterprises could utilize the metaverse to empower virtually augmented workspaces. In addition, the metaverse could also foster better engagement, connect with employees, and build collaboration among them. How? The metaverse can provide the best platform for driving collaboration among employees. Microsoft shows one of the most prominent examples of adopting the metaverse to transform workspaces. The Microsoft Mesh is practically developing as a virtual workspace solution where users can access all the Microsoft services in one place.
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Final Words
The overview of different business ideas for the metaverse shows how it can emerge as a profitable proposition. Many sectors could capitalize on the special traits of the metaverse to transform conventional business operations. The business opportunities in the metaverse rely largely on how efficiently you can tap into the positive points of the metaverse. One of the foremost advantages of the metaverse for business is the availability of an open, shared, and persistent virtual environment.
In addition, the metaverse also offers immersive and engaging experiences for the users. On top of it, the metaverse allows complete ownership of your assets and experiences in the metaverse along with facilities for trading. Learn more about the metaverse and its potential for fuelling new business ideas.
*Disclaimer: The article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide any investment advice. Claims made in this article do not constitute investment advice and should not be taken as such. 101 Blockchains shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this article. Do your own research!
