Is the metaverse going to go big or go home?

Will the metaverse go big or go home? There are strong arguments for both, but at this point they are just arguments. 

There are plenty of tech ideas voted most likely to succeed which didn’t: Google Glass, Amazon’s Fire Phone, 3D TV, Google Plus, Second Life and many more. There are also plenty of ideas at the other end of the spectrum. There were a lot of doubts about Airbnb, Uber, iPhone, Facebook … heck even the internet itself. 

So, here’s some stats about the metaverse to consider as you come to your own conclusions.

• Global metaverse market size was $47.69 billion in 2020 and one set of projections say it could reach $828.95 billion in 2028. (Emergen Research)
• AR/VR hardware sales increased 163% in 2021 YOY. (NPD)
• AR/VR hardware revenues up 137% in 2021 YOY. Projected to increase 32% in the first half of 2022. (NPD)
• Market capitalization of the metaverse, Facebook and gaming worldwide as of October 2021: $14.8 trillion. (Statista)
• A survey conducted in January of this year found 38% of US adults are either very familiar (14%) or somewhat familiar (24%) with the metaverse. (Ipsos)
• However, only 16% could correctly identify what it was; 10% identified it as a new social media platform; and 9% as a new tech company.  (Ipsos)
• Americans are significantly less interested in using AR/VR for shopping than the rest of the world: 27% of Americans would be interested in using it to purchase clothing, compared to 43% of the rest of the world. (YouGov)
• Some groups are more comfortable with the metaverse than others: 40% of Gen Zers and 40% of millennials, would be interested in shopping for real or virtual products in metaverse environments that brands create. (Obsess)
• Nearly 75% of Gen Z shoppers have purchased a digital item within a video game. (Obsess)

Why we care: The metaverse is white hot in marketing circles. This makes sense because it could very well be The Next Big Thing. Certainly a lot of very smart brands and marketers have decided it’s worthy of their time and money. But … there are no guarantees.

Read next: Acura shows us how to use the metaverse and NFTs to sell cars, raise awareness

About The Author

Constantine von Hoffman

Constantine von Hoffman is managing editor of MarTech. A veteran journalist, Con has covered business, finance, marketing and tech for CBSNews.com, Brandweek, CMO, and Inc. He has been city editor of the Boston Herald, news producer at NPR, and has written for Harvard Business Review, Boston Magazine, Sierra, and many other publications. He has also been a professional stand-up comedian, given talks at anime and gaming conventions on everything from My Neighbor Totoro to the history of dice and boardgames, and is author of the magical realist novel John Henry the Revelator. He lives in Boston with his wife, Jennifer, and either too many or too few dogs.