46% Britons would like to shop in 3D in the metaverse

Can the metaverse ever replace offline shopping? What do consumers think about brands using the metaverse for a virtual shopping experience? What are people most interested in buying in the metaverse? Read along to find out how surveyed consumers in the UK feel about the metaverse and its potential to improve the eCommerce experience.

Apart from areas like gaming and entertainment, the metaverse may slowly be tapping into eCommerce as well. Although it’s still in the nascent stages and not fully understood and used by many, online shopping in the metaverse could possibly enhance the eCommerce experience for consumers and change how they make online purchases in the future. For the same reasons, ‘many fashion brands are looking for ways to get involved in the metaverse vision to offer real-time, more immersive and interactive experiences’, according to an article by Forbes.

In the first part of this two-part series, we tried to understand the general sentiment and awareness of Britons around the concept of the metaverse and made some interesting observations. In this second part of the series, we delve deeper into their intent behind using a simulated environment like the metaverse to make online purchases. To do this, we surveyed 997 participants in October 2022 above the age of 18 from different parts of the UK. For the full methodology, scroll to the bottom of this article.

48% prefer online over in-person shopping

What do people like better: shopping with the click of a mouse or enjoying the experience of physical shopping? When we asked respondents if they prefer to shop online or in person, 48% said that they prefer online shopping followed by 29% who said that they prefer in-person shopping, while 23% said that they do not have any preference. From the data, it is clear that despite physical stores being around for longer, a significant proportion of people prefer to shop online. Let us look at the reason for this behaviour in the next section.

Majority prefers online shopping because it's quicker

In order to understand why people are opting for a digital shopping experience, we asked those respondents who said they prefer online shopping their reasons for doing so. As many as 58% said that they find online shopping quicker than in-person shopping. Moreover, 51% said that it's easier to find the products they are looking for online, 46% said that they find a wide range of options to choose from, 41% said that they get better prices online, and 15% find it easier to use coupons while shopping online.

Are people interested in virtual shopping in the metaverse?

In an attempt to understand how many people would be interested to go virtual shopping in 3D —i.e., they would be able to see and try products in 3D— in the metaverse, and 46% said yes.

What are people interested in buying in the metaverse?

We asked those people who are interested in shopping in the metaverse the type of products they would like to shop for, and 80% said that they would shop for clothes. This is followed by 52% who would shop for electronics, 46% for household goods, 40% for video games, 34% for groceries and music each, 33% for trips and tourism, and 31% for toys, among other responses.

Why are people not interested in using the metaverse to shop?

When we asked those respondents who were not interested in shopping in the metaverse ‘why wouldn't you be interested in using the metaverse to shop?’, 35% stated that they are worried about sharing their personal data.

How do people feel about meetings/events in the metaverse?

The rise of remote ways of working in the past few years has made virtual meetings not so uncommon. But are people ready to have their meetings conducted in the metaverse?

When we asked employed respondents —full-time employed, self-employed, part-time employed, and freelancers— how they would feel if meetings/events in their current job started to take place in the metaverse. 43% said that they wouldn't feel comfortable but would try it. 37% said that they would find it interesting and would be happy to try it out, followed by 12% who said that it would be a reason for them to leave the company. Another 8% said that they would be very interested in using the metaverse like this.

82% associate the concept of metaverse with technology

What comes to the minds of our respondents when they think of the metaverse? For 82% of them, it is technology.

Can the metaverse help change brand perception?

Would people think differently of your brand if it is available in the metaverse? When we asked respondents ‘If one of your preferred brands were to offer products and services in the metaverse, how would your perception of that brand change?’, 59% said that it wouldn't change their perception of that brand. Moreover, 31% stated that it would improve their perception of that brand, while 10% said that it would negatively impact their perception of that brand.

What do we know so far?

The metaverse is beginning to take shape and this may give brands an opportunity to prepare themselves accordingly. ‘A growing number of companies are buying up space in the metaverse so that they can set up shop there’, according to an article by the BBC, which also talks about the importance of picking the right location in the metaverse to be visited most by avatars, meaning a virtual representation of real-world entities, mostly people.

Although no one knows what the future eCommerce space will look like just yet, the growing interest of consumers in trying out virtual technology can possibly be a motivation for brands to introduce their business in the metaverse.