Metaverse: Assessing its sectoral impact

A look at the business growth opportunity that the Metaverse presents

Metaverse is a virtual reality world where users can interact, game and experience things as they would in the real world. The Metaverse is growing exponentially. The rise of blockchain, digital assets, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) further fuels the demand for the metaverse. The impact of the metaverse in the real world in the next 5 years for various sectors, such as financial services, automotive and manufacturing, education, and retail is anticipated as follows.

Financial Services

If the metaverse develops like how NFTs have, it could be a massive growth opportunity for financial service players. NFT sales alone hit $2 billion in the first quarter of 2021, more than a 20-time increase from the previous quarter.

Looking out five years from now, we imagine a place where you have entire user-generated ecosystems, with the metaverse giving rise to virtual societies that transact and engage in a decentralized manner.

Automotive and Manufacturing

A shared online space that spans across dimensions, powered by a combination of VR, AR and MR (mixed reality), will enable the automotive and manufacturing industry to be deeply entrenched in the metaverse. Creating an industrial metaverse is possible if it organically integrates cyber-physical systems; digital twins; 5G-powered AR, VR, and AI computer vision; low latency remote control and other applications.

In the automotive industry, cars have evolved from a simple getting from point A to B to a mobile space that integrates work, entertainment and other functions. Autonomous driving releases attention and hands for the driver and passengers to do work or enjoy an entertainment experience that is traditionally constrained to the office or home environment.

Put simply, the metaverse will leverage VR and AR in automobiles, layered onto existing technologies such as smart cockpits, voice recognition and AI.

Education

While the remote education experience has already improved greatly with campus digital twins, we expect the metaverse to naturally drive spatial changes throughout the education industry in the next five years. Pursuing knowledge will no longer be confined to words, images and lectures available on demand, but reimagined to include an immersive experience accompanied by digital records in the metaverse.

Education in the metaverse era is by no means confined to a realistic learning experience. We see the metaverse as the natural experimental playground for the education sector. Through collaboration and the establishment of a standard framework to create a shared digital ecosystem, the metaverse will realize the sharing of high-quality educational resources on a global scale, benefiting a wide range of audiences of all ages and social classes, and making education truly a lifelong endeavour.

Retail and Consumer Brands

In the era of digital consumption, brands continue to evolve their approach to establishing direct communication channels with consumers. From the early days of building a website, to embracing e-commerce, opening social media accounts, and even live broadcasting, the metaverse now offers a new concept for brands to experiment with.

The prevalence and growing importance of virtual characters or avatars have in recent times presented various business opportunities in the retail sector. Many consumers now expect a combination of in-store and digital experiences, and the metaverse offers the ability to engage with brands and products using a personalized avatar. Whether it’s trying out clothes, daily necessities, test-driving vehicles, or just elevating the browsing experience in a virtual store, the possibilities are endless.

[author title=”” image=”http://”]Nitin Shah , CMD, Allied Digital[/author]

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Times – ET Edge Insights, its management, or its members

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ET Edge Insights, its management, or its members

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