Indian consumers are showing interest in ‘virtual’ goods, says study

Consumers are showing a keen interest in buying ‘virtual products’ amid the recent buzz around metaverse, a market opportunity that Bloomberg Intelligence estimated will reach nearly $800 billion by 2024.

Now, a new survey of more than 11,000 consumers in 16 countries including India, found that nearly two-thirds (64%) of consumers globally, including in India, have already purchased a virtual good or participated in a virtual experience in the past year, a figure that is set to rise as 83% now show interest in making purchases via metaverse. 

So what exactly are these consumers planning to buy? The new survey by consulting major Accenture found that half (50%) of consumers said that they are buying, or would be interested in buying, a travel experience such as a sightseeing tour or hotel stay. This figure rises to 55% of millennials, compared to 29% of baby boomers. For leisure, 54% of consumers said that they are buying, or interested in buying, tickets to a concert, a show or sporting event taking place in a virtual world.

This clearly shows that the growing use of immersive technologies such as augmented and virtual reality will further drive consumer-facing companies, such as those in retail, consumer goods and travel, to increase investment in new capabilities and experiences to blend physical and virtual worlds. If they fail to do so they will risk being left behind, said the report. 

“As consumers explore the virtual-real world, companies that do not actively begin incorporating new immersive experiences into their business strategy now, run the risk of being left behind,” said Anurag Gupta, managing director and lead - Strategy & Consulting, Accenture in India.  

He added that by embracing the Metaverse, businesses now have the opportunity to “reinvent consumer experiences and also transform the way in which products and services are being created and offered.”

Already over half (55%) of the global consumers agreed that more of their lives and livelihoods are moving into digital spaces. In response, the vast majority (90%) of retail executives say that they anticipate that leading organisations will push the boundaries of the virtual world to make it more real, increasing the need for persistence and seamless navigation between the digital and physical worlds.  

Further, 72% of global executives stated that the metaverse will have a positive impact on their organisations, with 45% believing it will be breakthrough or transformational, according to the report. 

The trend is more towards the millennials, who are showing a greater interest in virtual products and experiences, as per another study published in January 2022 by Obsess. The study too revealed how consumers are shopping in the metaverse, with 70% of those who have shopped in a virtual store making at least one purchase. 

The survey found that nearly 75% of Gen Z shoppers have purchased a digital item within a videogame and that 60% of these young shoppers think that brands should sell their products on metaverse platforms. 

Neha Singh, CEO and Founder of Obsess observed that these shoppers have grown up with online videogames, e-sports and social media and many of them see the emerging metaverse as a modern-day mall—a connected virtual world where they can hang out, shop and socialise.

For retail brands, it will be important to create sound metaverse commerce strategies that will resonate with consumers over the coming years. 

 “As an evolving continuum, Metaverse is expected to transform and impact every part of the business value chain – right from reinventing consumer engagement to solving R&D issues and enabling enterprise-wide data analysis to leadership decisions,” Manish Gupta, managing director and lead - Products, Accenture in India said. 

Toward that end, Gupta too believes that companies need to “focus on skilling and investing in a robust technology foundation to benefit from the new opportunities that will come up in the future.”