How Metaverse will reshape the future for Retail

Today’s post is about something that has been on my mind for a few months now, and I really wanted to talk about it. To those who know me, they know I am a #RetailLover , I was before working at Microsoft, and then they gave me the opportunity to help Spanish retailers to create the Retail of the future — what a dream — Since then, I’ve learnt so much from them.

I’ve been talking about the Phygital concept in retail for almost five-six years. Phygital concept means to bridge the gap between the physical and digital world. For me it was combining digital experiences in a physical place… but at that moment, what I was not even imaging was this new world called Metaverse, that in a digital place, can result in a very realistic and immersive physical world — ok, hi mum, we are in the future! 🚀

You might have heard about Metaverse, but if you still don’t know about it, let me share a quick video with you!

So, how is Metaverse going to reshape the Retail industry in the future?

I would like to talk mainly about two places in the future: Physical places, what we traditionally know as the bricks-and-morter stores, and Digital places, in which the e-commerce as we know it will evolve to an immersive commerce in the Metaverse.

Bricks-and-morter stores will not disappear, because most consumers still want the tactile experiences offered by physical stores. But more than ever, stores will evolve into an experience store in which technology, AI, IoT, etc… has a lot to say.

Intelligent stores, personalized in-store digital advertisement, smart (friction-less) checkout, in-store inventory and fulfillment efficiency… Also, store associates will have a crucial role in the store of the future, acting as subject matter experts where Retailers will have to empower them to engage and connect with a smart shopper.

When we talk about the Metaverse in Retail, we are talking about bringing in-store experiences and associates’ expertise in an immersive digital place. We are talking about how augmented reality and 3D technology can bring any product into people’s homes virtually, or how you can engage with a live expert hologram to guide the customer shopping experience, based in a hiper-personalized relationship from a unified customer profile.

👉 Check how Microsoft is blending the virtual and physical shopping for their Microsoft Digital Stores

Also, the importance of gaming for retail will reinforce the metaverse in the industry. As Ali Rezvan, Retail Executive at Microsoft stated, there are 2.6 billion gamers across the world that are built around particular mobile platforms, consoles and games. These are the consumers from the future, and fashion retailers as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, or Balenciaga are starting to response to them. This January, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard to bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone, across every device, becoming the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue.

“When we talk about the Metaverse in Retail, we are talking about bringing in-store experiences and associates’ expertise in an immersive digital place to provide a memorable experience to the customer”

As a Retail Lover that I am, I really believe this is a fascinating moment to be working for Microsoft and in the industry.

Here some important questions you as a retailer should ask when choosing your technology provider:

1. How is your Tech provider investing in the industry?
2. How is your Tech provider investing in the technology for the future as Metaverse?
3. How is your Tech Provider investing in security, in an era when fraud and cybercrime are getting more sophisticated being a risk for the business and customer data?

Hope you have enjoyed the reading and please, I’m eager to listen your opinion related to the topic! — yes, I am inviting you to post a comment with your thoughts 😊