The introduction of the metaverse reflects the increased amount of time that people are spending online. This new virtual realm has allowed fashion brands to experiment digitally with their products, which has seen brands like Gucci double down on creativity to bring their customers new worlds or experiences.
So far, the fashion industry’s involvement with this space suggests promising new avenues for customer engagement, and cross-industry collaborations.
Though still in its infancy, engaging with the metaverse has become a marker of industry relevance. Brands that fail to work with the increasingly dominant metaverse will lose traction.
Customer engagement: Gen Z
A recent survey from Roblox on 1,000 Gen Z respondents earlier this year reported that 75% of Gen Z plan on spending their money on digital fashion. If fashion brands enter the metaverse, they will reach newer, younger audiences that are demonstrating a willingness to invest in the metaverse.
2 in 5 users from this same survey stated they would prefer that their avatar in the metaverse is more stylish than their actual self. Not only are GenZ investing financially in this virtual world, but emotionally too as they look to invest more time and care in creating digital identities that transcends their own physical presence.
To keep up with this generation, digital fashion houses must ensure they create experiences that help Gen Z bridge the gap between the physical and the digital, making It easier to align their real-world existence with their virtual avatars.
For example, Highstreet Fashion brand Forever 21 launched "Forever 21 Shop City", which allowed users join up their physical and digital customer journey’s. Users can both buy and sell products, as well as create their own shops in this virtual space. Going a step further, users can also hire employees and individually design their fashion garments and earn points which can be used on and offline.
Cross-industry collaborations
Fashion brands can collaborate with other brands to produce experiences with unlimited scalability thanks to the technology and nature of the digital resources offered in the metaverse.
Gucci is one of many fashion brands which have utilised the metaverse as a space to pursue a cross-industry collaboration.
Gaming platform Roblox has welcomed a high-fashion brand into their world launching 'Gucci Garden'. Game users had the opportunity to explore the luxury Garden’s immersive themed rooms, as well as a chance to try on and shop the Gucci NFT collection to be worn online.
The cross-industry activation had an impressive level of engagement and impact with a virtual version of Gucci’s iconic Dionysus bag selling for an astonishing $4,115 - a value that was far higher than the bag's real world version.
Since then, Gucci has remained keen advocates and explorers of virtual worlds, NFTs, and gaming having experienced the benefits of pioneering an existence in the metaverse.
The metaverse is connecting brands from different industries and uniting them in the name of creativity, and innovation.
Here at MC Displays, we have our fingers on the pulse of innovation. Our lives will continue to be connected to the virtual, and the metaverse is the next obvious step in the evolution of technology. Being aware of innovations like the metaverse which impacts our clients allows us to inform our own creativity to help inspire and support our clients.
Key Takeaways
- Having a virtual world that represents your brand or product not only helps consumers bridge the gap between the digital and physical, but it also helps boost the accessibility of your brand. Thanks to the metaverse, consumers can access your brand from anywhere, at any time.
- The metaverse welcomes innovation, and creativity. Being able to digitally experiment means fashion can be in a constant flux and stay up to date with the latest trends guiding the industry.
- Genz makes up 60% of metaverse users, Fashion brands can therefore engage with this audience in a meaningful way by tapping into this space to create unique experiences.