Metaverse not too familiar among consumers

Nearly half of consumers surveyed have not yet heard the term “metaverse” and only 5% consider themselves enthusiastic users.

Those are top findings of a consumer study conducted by CommerceNext in partnership with Bizrate Insights, Coresight Research and CommX.

The February study polled mostly women and those of ages 18 to 59, according to a press release.

“Our survey data indicate that awareness of the metaverse is low overall, but the potential is high,” Veronika Sonsev, co-founder of CommerceNext, said in the release. “While most shoppers were not familiar with the metaverse, the ones that engage in virtual worlds seemed inclined to shop in the metaverse in the future.”

Just 18% of consumers surveyed have engaged with virtual worlds, and of those, in terms of engagement, 76% have played games and 39% have socialized.

While only 30% of the 18% shop in metaverse environments, the respondents reported interest in activities such as shopping in virtual malls and trying on clothing and accessories virtually when they were asked about potential shopping-related activities in future metaverse visits. Notably, respondents showed the most interest in buying real-world products.