Innovative metaverse marketplace launches are powering the industry growth globally

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Across industry verticals, metaverse has huge growth potential because of its ability to transform and drive digital experiences on the internet. While the market is still in its early stages of development, the popularity of the metaverse has been rising significantly, both among businesses as well as individuals. Currently, businesses across different industries are investing in the segment to innovate and gain an advantage by being early adopters of the technology.

Over the last few quarters, several innovative metaverse marketplaces have been launched worldwide. These marketplaces are aimed at improving customer shopping experiences, reviving the food service industry, and offering land in the metaverse. Many major giants in e-commerce are looking to enter into the metaverse sector to offer their shoppers an immersive shopping experience. This has resulted in the launch of innovative metaverse marketplaces. For instance,

• In September 2022, Alibaba, one of the leading players in the Chinese e-commerce industry, announced the launch of a new and immersive shopping experience for its customers in the metaverse. Launched on the Tmall Luxury Pavilion platform, the metaverse marketplace will host an augmented reality (AR) fashion show which is expected to be accessible to selected brands.
• Notably, some of the major brands such as OTB, Kering, and LVMH have already showcased their products on the metaverse marketplace, thereby allowing their customers to try them on an immersive AR experience. To gain free access to the metaverse marketplace, Alibaba is giving Meta Pass to shoppers. Notably, the Meta Pass offers shoppers benefits such as priority purchase of products as well as admission to offline activities conducted by brands.
• In June 2022, Magnati, the payments solutions provider in the Middle East, also announced the launch of a metaverse marketplace. The marketplace, Magnati-MetaV, allows retailers in the Middle East to create virtual stores and offer an immersive shopping experience to their customers. Shoppers can browse products across different categories, including fashion, groceries, and technology. Moreover, they can also purchase tickets for virtual events.
• The metaverse marketplace also allows event organizers to conduct events virtually. Notably, the Magnati-MetaV shopping platform is fully integrated with the payment infrastructure, thereby allowing shoppers to pay for their purchases using credit, debit, and other digital payment methods. The marketplace is the first of its kind in the region and is expected to further drive the growth of online shopping among consumers.

In India as well, where online shopping surged significantly during the global pandemic period, e-commerce players are investing heavily in the metaverse space to create more interactive online shopping experiences for their shoppers. For instance,

• In Q4 2022, Flipkart is expected to launch Flipverse, an interactive shopping platform for consumers in India. Notably, the development comes after the e-commerce giant announced the launch of Flipkart Labs, an in-house innovation capability, to build Web3 solutions. The metaverse marketplace is expected to host games, NFTs, brand activations, contests, drops, and product launches. TechInsight360 expects the firm to adopt the AR approach to make the shopping experience more interactive for its customers in India.

Along with the goal of driving shopping experiences for customers, metaverse marketplaces are also being launched to revive the food service industry and to offer land in the metaverse. For instance,

• In April 2022, Restaurants Canada, the not-for-profit association, announced that it had partnered with Nextech AR Solutions to build a metaverse marketplace for the food service industry in Canada. Notably, the 365 Marketplace will allow restaurant professionals globally to connect and do business virtually, thereby assisting the recovery of the market.

In Africa as well, the trend of the metaverse is growing with major banking institutions buying land in the metaverse marketplace. For instance,

• In September 2022, Nedbank, one of the leading financial institutions in Africa, announced that it bought land in the Ubuntuland metaverse marketplace in collaboration with Africarare. Notably, Ubuntuland is the first metaverse marketplace in Africa that sells virtual land to businesses.
• The acquisition of virtual land is part of Nedbank’s strategy to leverage emerging technologies for discovering new marketing opportunities. The firm bought a 12 x 12 plot of land in the metaverse. Notably, MTN and M&C Saatchi Abel have been some of the other firms that have bought land in Ubuntuland.

As the popularity of the metaverse continues to surge among consumers and businesses globally, TechInsight360 expects more such innovative metaverse marketplace launches from the short to medium-term perspective. An increasing number of brands have been already setting up shops in the metaverse. This growing demand among brands and retailers can lead to an increasing number of e-commerce players launching metaverse marketplaces, as consumers move from electronic commerce to experiential commerce globally over the next three to four years.