Recently, the Rome Business School has published a lengthy report on the future of the metaverse and its market.
The report was curated by Dr. Francesco Amendola, Program Director of the Executive Master in Data Science and the International Master in Data Science, together with Professor Valerio Mancini, Director of the Rome Business School’s Research and Outreach Center.
Amendola is also the CTO of Harpa Group, and in the past he was the CIO (Chief Information Officer) of one of the leading global providers of technological solutions for the gaming market.
Mancini is also a contract professor at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, the SSML Unicollege of Florence, and the University of Perugia. Since 2022, he has been a member of the scientific board of “The Market: International Journal of Business” – Cyprus Centre for Business Research (Cyprus Business School).
Summary
The report on the future of the metaverse market
The report is a lengthy 77 pages and analyzes the current state and future prospects of the metaverse, considered an imaginary universe generated by computers, accessible through visors that allow for a three-dimensional world experience.
The two researchers claim that the metaverse manifests itself as a fertile ground for exploration, with profound implications not only in the technological context but also in the commercial and societal sphere.
In particular, they focus on synergies with e-commerce, also because they argue that the advent of the metaverse has laid the foundations for the birth of true new business models, precursors of an era of profound transformations in the way commerce and market are conceived and managed.
The entire section 5 is dedicated to the crypto sector, specifically to NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and e-commerce.
The role of NFTs in the metaverse market
NFTs and cryptocurrencies are mainly considered as innovative gifts.
The advantages of NFTs are that they are unique, intangible, rare, and often limited edition.
This allows them to represent virtually any object from real life in digital format.
According to researchers from the Rome Business School, the specific use of NFTs and cryptocurrencies within the metaverse is precisely to provide a simple and effective way to distribute rewards or gifts.
They also mention the Italian crypto exchange Young Platform, specifically last year’s campaign “Save their future for Christmas” that accepted donations in cryptocurrencies.
The field in which this type of use is most interesting is that of charity, of which the initiative “Save their future for Christmas” was also part, so much so that the report mentions several initiatives that are in some ways similar, always within the same field of charity.
The other sectors
In addition to this, other sectors are also mentioned, with examples, in which it is possible to exploit the potential of NFTs and cryptocurrencies.
The first one is fashion, and in particular the wearable clothing items in the metaverse.
If the metaverse is an entire virtual universe within which people can interact with their avatars, it is obvious that their virtual versions will wear virtual clothes. NFTs could simply be the technology with which these virtual clothes can be traded on the market.
They also mention sports, given the resounding success of some past initiatives like NBA Top Shot. In this case, however, the metaverse has little to do with it, just like in the case of charity, because sports NFTs have their own market in the real world.
Instead, two specific uses of the metaverse are 3D real estate and art.
Inside the metaverse, there are obviously also three-dimensional virtual buildings, as well as virtual plots of land, and NFTs can be used to trade those goods, sometimes unique and almost always limited.
They mention, for example, Decentraland, The Sandbox, and the Italian project The Nemesis, among the interesting projects that fall within this scope.
Regarding art, they mention virtual 3D sculptures, although they mainly focus on the fact that the metaverse has allowed the evolution of the traditional concept of shopping with a new level of engagement in which brands and consumers interact in a creative way, through immersive and personalized experiences.
Physical products
An entire paragraph is dedicated to physical products that may be of interest to those operating in the metaverse.
They specifically mention the so-called “immersive” products, such as headsets, haptic gloves, clothing
aptic and even the digital generation of smells.
These are products considered milestones of the digital revolution, because they allow people to live extraordinary experiences, sharing digital connections that defy the limitations of distance and physicality.
The report obviously delves into the issue of 3D headsets, as they are probably the main accessory when it comes to the metaverse. However, they also focus on gloves because technically they are almost as important as the headsets.
The focus of the reasoning is precisely related to the Christmas period, that is, to the possibility that all these products are given as Christmas gifts.
In fact, projections for Christmas 2023 suggest a return of growth in both online and traditional purchases, with a particular focus on the evolution of digital consumption, and a specific growing interest in virtual shopping experiences and new modalities offered by the metaverse.
