How Metaverse Can Digitally Turn the Eyewear Purchase

Metaverse: unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ve certainly heard of it. Everybody is talking about it, it’s said to be as revolutionary as the Internet (if not more!), and even Facebook was renamed Meta in reference to it. But its concept can be difficult to grasp: What is it exactly? What does it do and how will it impact our everyday life?

In this article, we’ll try to explain everything you need to know about Metaverse and why it’s going to revolutionize the way we buy online.

But first, what is the Metaverse?

The metaverse is an interaction between the physical and virtual worlds, a digital world driven by virtual reality, augmented reality, and blockchain. The metaverse world offers unending possibilities where users can interact in a 100% digital environment. These possibilities drastically change how people socialize and play and how people work and conduct business.

The metaverse uses concepts from actual social media to create space for a rich user interaction that mimic the real world. Therefore, the metaverse is a platform for bringing the two universes together through an interactive experience.

However, different industries define it in alignment with their strategy, so there is not a specific definition because it is still at its early development stage.

Metaverse Trends in The Fashion Industry

The Metaverse is revolutionizing e-commerce by bridging the gap between e-commerce and the in-store shopping experience. In this virtual world, people exist as avatars and can walk into a virtual store and try on fashion items and see how they look directly on their avatar. The virtual try-on experience is the key feature that will allow users to try the merchandise in the metaverse. The user can then purchase a collectible product linked to a physical product (an NFT) or can be completely virtual.

The metaverse has started to influence the fashion industry. Several brands have been investing in virtual advertisements and exhibitions. One example is Gucci, one of the top ten fashion brands embracing the metaverse. The brand has launched the Gucci Vault Discord, which aims to drive an interactive experience about the future of metaverse.

Moreover, the year 2021 saw Gucci team up with Roblox, a renowned gaming platform, to do an exhibition of Gucci handbags, sunglasses, and hats in avatars. The space is known as the Gucci Garden space, which allows gamers and enthusiasts to buy rare Gucci accessories and collectibles. The exhibit proved that shopping could get digital through augmented reality and virtual reality. Gucci is undoubtedly going to benefit from the metaverse because the demand for luxury products is rising.

Another top brand in the world that is heavily interested in the Metaverse is Louis Vuitton. During its 200^th anniversary, Louis Vuitton released a new mobile game with embedded NFTs dubbed “Louis: The Game," one of a kind digital collectible (NFT) in the metaverse. The game has more than two million downloads, and Louis Vuitton has an art collage of around $69.3 million in the metaverse.

How Metaverse Can Digitally Turn the Eyewear Purchase

Eyewear brands can use different approaches to reach their customers in the metaverse:

1 - Through Engagement and Awareness

Leveraging gaming in the metaverse is a sure way to get started. The reason is that gaming will offer your brand a fully realized immersive experience that only a few others can provide now. Growing your eyewear brand will require you to partner with video game developers established to help you create an interactive experience.

Eyewear brands can create their video games within the metaverse where users can participate in quests and gather digital collectibles. In this interactive experience, the user can accumulate these collectibles and sell or redeem them as real money in the physical universe. This strategy, when deployed well, will enable the eyewear brands in both engagement and brand recognition. This gamified experience aims at generating buzz and recognition in the metaverse world.

2 - Use Of Special Events on The Metaverse

Eyewear brands may decide to choose to do a one-time event on metaverse. The special event is a strategy used by Warner Bros when they were preparing to launch the film known as In The Heights, whereby they threw a virtual block party hosted on Roblox. Fortnite has also used this strategy to host several virtual music events, including premieres and concerts like a virtual rap concert.

These eyewear brands can therefore take advantage of the ability to host virtual events as they will showcase their products and partnerships. The inclusion of the ‘try before you’ buy technique in these events will help in the generation of more leads due to the confidence that the users get by doing a virtual try-on of the eyewear.

3 - Creating Marketing Opportunities Through Audience Involvement Using Avatars

The aim of any company creating an engagement with its audience is to convert the users into consumers. Eyewear brands can find the value of their memorabilia, their logos, and other intangible assets virtually on metaverse. An example is the Balenciaga brand, which has accessories like backpacks, design pickaxes, and digital outfits available in their virtual boutique on Fortnite. Nike already has trademark applications to virtually produce and sell Nike brands like footwear, apparel, and other accessories. There are many e-commerce opportunities in the metaverse, with virtual stores gaining great dominance.

Eyewear brands can take the same route. Imagine this; you need to shop for an eyewear product on metaverse. Instead of using a gaming avatar, you become the avatar. You can go ahead with checking out the different eyewear products available. You receive ‘buffs’ or ‘power ups’ that allow you to have a quick new look at your avatar, which will enable you to browse through the product catalog and have a virtual try-on of the sunglasses. When you find the glasses that fit you and place an order, the sunglasses you have placed an order in your avatar mode are on their way from an eyewear delivery service to your actual-world door.

Giving users a skin or a genderless avatar that gives them a try before buying an interactive experience will help grow the consumer base. The user can enter virtual storefronts in the metaverse and have a virtual try-on of the eyewear products. When eyewear brands give their customers a socialization experience, their brand can gain massive worldwide recognition through social media shares.

Many famous brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Disney are investing in the potential of the metaverse world and with great results. They have found new ways to connect with their customers. The metaverse can also turn eyewear purchases into a personalized experience by creating a socialization and interactive platform aimed at transforming e-commerce. It’s the next level!

Users can be customized avatars, who walk into the metaverse, view and try the eyewear products with augmented reality. These users can then make virtual purchases and they are delivered in the real world. The Metaverse can therefore allow consumers to have an advanced first digital experience with it, and gives them further reassurance before buying a product. The metaverse is a virtual world full of opportunities for daring brands that want to capitalize on innovative products.