All the excitement and hype around the arrival of the metaverse has coincided with a global crisis of trust around such virtual spaces.
Most firms view the metaverse as a new channel for their existing operations but the opportunities for value creation are growing rapidly.
As the digital and physical worlds merge more than ever before, user trust in the technology and data behind the metaverse will be vital.
The year 2022 marked the moment when the concept of the metaverse finally entered mainstream thinking.
The arrival of this new technology – an immersive version of the internet that we will experience in avatar form – caused a huge amount of excitement and hype. It did not take long for the hype to collide head-on with a global crisis of trust around the space.
This collision poses fundamental questions for businesses who view the metaverse as a major opportunity for value creation.
At this early development stage of the metaverse, most businesses are viewing it as a new channel for their existing operations – a way of engaging audiences that are out of reach of current channels, namely Generation Z. As consumers and retailers move deeper into the metaverse, the opportunities for value creation will grow exponentially.
Build trust to create value in metaverse
Much of the recent metaverse buzz has centred on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the cryptocurrencies used to purchase them. Trust will be the primary currency of mainstream metaverse commerce.
Businesses rely on trust to build and maintain customer relationships. Customers will likely stay away from mainstream metaverse commerce without trust, and all the potential identified in this space will be quickly lost.
To make the metaverse work, we will need to ask a lot more of consumers in terms of data and privacy. This will begin as soon as they put on a virtual reality (VR) headset and enter the metaverse. These headsets can capture and process massive amounts of biometric data, such as iris scans, pupil dilation, heart rate and voice analysis.
To gain the trust of customers who will be asked to share this vast amount of data, we must establish transparent governance standards for data acquisition, storage and security. These standards must be adopted and followed by all virtual ecosystems in an interoperable metaverse.
Customers will also need to put new faith in the financial mechanisms that will power the metaverse. They will need wallets linked to global institutions governed by opaque regulations, or foreign exchange markets they may be unaware of. That is a completely new level of trust that must be earned.
The hype surrounding some forms of crypto has clearly failed to deliver on the expectations it created, eroding customer trust in the digital currencies that will be the bedrock of value creation in the metaverse. Regaining that trust will be critical to running a successful metaverse business.
Metaverse will transform retail experience
As retailers enter the metaverse, they are experimenting with new experiential elements that will transform shopping and allow customers to engage with brands in a more immersive and interactive manner.
Multiple companies are taking different approaches. For example, IKEA has developed a virtual reality showroom where customers can browse and buy furniture. Customers can use VR headsets and other technology to walk through a virtual showroom and see how different pieces of furniture would look in their own homes.
We, at Majid Al Futtaim, recently launched Dubai’s first virtual mall – the Mall of the Metaverse (Decentraland coordinates 95,21). Customers can try on digital wearables for their avatars, meet our virtual penguins, watch the latest movie trailers, and learn about our major brands and ecosystem partners here.
By investing in upskilling our talent, engaging with local authorities including the UAE Council for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Dubai Future Foundation, and creating and testing pilot virtual experiences, we strive to create one of the most advanced metaverse platforms.
As we complete various stages of testing, we know that shopping in the metaverse will be like no other. Meta-retailers will need to establish a high level of trust in order to encourage customers to enter their virtual doors. Customers will want to know they're entering a secure environment where their privacy is respected, their data is secure, and their trust is rewarded.
