Why are eCommerce companies entering the metaverse? The most apparent reason is to create another source of revenue. In addition, NFTs and the metaverse give eCommerce companies access to a whole new audience, which many are missing today.
As most small business owners and marketers already know, successful marketing means building and serving a community. And in many ways, NFTs and the metaverse give companies another way to build community. Thus, the skill sets and requirements needed for NFT and metaverse success are partially the same as those required to build a community anywhere else on the Internet.
These communities are game changers. As social media increasingly permeates our lives and businesses, the competition for organic reach has become an issue for many online marketers and companies.
NFTs and the metaverse are still new enough that not everyone is using them for their eCommerce business. Still, they provide marketers and companies with a new way to build and connect with their communities without falling prey to the platform's algorithms.
First, I want to discuss NFT's potential for eCommerce.
NFTs in Ecommerce
MarketsandMarkets predicts the NFT market will grow from $3 billion to $13.6 billion by 2027. Many major companies like Nike, Adidas, Gucci, TikTok, Microsoft, Alibaba, and Meta have already announced their use of NFT.
NBA sells the best moments of games in the form of NFT tokens, Coca-Cola "pours" virtual drinks in the metaverse, and Pizza Hut Canada sells a piece of NFT pizza for $9200. I collected cases of international and Ukrainian brands that learned how to earn on NFT.
Coca-Cola: Digital (NFT) Collection In Style Of The 1940s
In 2021, Coca-Cola unveiled a collection of NFT items that were auctioned off. Token buyers received collectible virtual objects that fell at random from a box resembling a soda machine:
- Coca-Cola Bubble Jacket Wearable. It is reminiscent old Coca-Cola deliveryman uniform. It can be worn on the Decentraland 3D virtual reality platform.
- Friendship Box. It reimagines Coca-Cola’s highly collectible 1956 retro vending machines.
- Sound Visualizer. It reproduces the sounds of a can opening and a soda sizzling.
- Friendship Card. It reimagines the design of Coca-Cola’s famous friendship-inspired trading cards from the 1940s.
The money raised went to Special Olympics - an international organization that organizes sports events for people with intellectual disabilities.
The total amount raised was 217 ETH ($288,600).
Adidas: NFT Clothing For The Metaverse
https://youtu.be/YwwBshzG5dE?embedable=true
In the winter of 2022, Adidas launched the NFT campaign Into the Metaverse in collaboration with brands PUNKS Comic, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and gmoney. The NFTs are exclusive items of digital clothing for use in blockchain-based games.
By buying NFT tokens, users also received a pass to the future Adidas metaverse. And during 2022, customers could order any physical product the brand released with its Into the Metaverse partners.
Within hours of the sale opening, nearly 30,000 NFT tokens were sold, each worth 0.2 ETH (about $765). The action was limited in time and lasted for 4 hours.
In total, the Adidas company earned more than $22 million.
NBA: NFT Video Cuts Of The Best Basketball Games
The Premier League of World Basketball and one of the NBA's premier sports organizations, starting in 2019, selects the best moments from basketball game videos and sells them in NFT format - NBA Top Shot.
Each video has a different value. For example, there is a video that only 25 people have access to. At the same time, another NFT may exist in thousands of copies.
NBA Top Shots had sales of more than $230 million in 2021.
In addition, on the NBA Top Shot marketplace, users can resell tokens. Now the website has 350 000 registered users. For example, NFT with the famous American basketball player LeBron James on the marketplace resold for $200 000.
Louis Vuitton: NFT Game For The Brand's 200th Anniversary
https://youtu.be/5dr_56kibBQ?embedable=true
In April 2022, to celebrate its 200th anniversary, Louis Vuitton released the Louis the Game. In it, a Vivienne figurine traveled through 200 virtual worlds in search of two hundred birthday candles. Louis Vuitton hid in the game details about the founder's life and interesting facts about the fashion house. In addition to raising brand awareness, the NFT game's goal was also LV's attempt to interest Gen-Z consumers - those born between 1997 and 2012.
Players who found 30 hidden collectible NFTs could enter a drawing for tokens on August 4, 2022, the birthday of Louis Vuitton's founder. At the end of the draw, 10 ETH were given away. One was equal to $1,900 at the time. Players got access to the leaderboard, where they could see their results and compare them to the success of other participants.
The game was downloaded more than 2 million times.
m81studio: Viktor Medvedchuk's Pop-Art NFT Token
Lviv illustration and game-art studio m81studio in April 2022 put up on the OpenSea a pop-art token with an image of the head of "Opposition Platform — For Life" Viktor Medvedchuk, who was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on April 12. The starting price of the NFT token was 0.1 ETH ($290 at $2,900 per ETH). Online bidding lasted until April 27. As a result, NFT was sold for 0.5 ETH ($1450). After deducting OpenSea's commission, the amount was 0.4875 ETH ($1400).
The studio stated that Medvedchuk was neither a faithful lawyer for Vasyl Stus nor a reliable Ukrainian, but he is finally being sold to benefit Ukraine. The m81studio designers gave the money they received to Ukrainian volunteers that helped the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Planeta Kino: 6 Flavors Of NFT Popcorn
In March 2022, the Ukrainian cinema chain Planeta Kino created and launched six flavors of NFT popcorn on the OpenSea platform: "Courage of the Ukrainian Armed Forces", "Steel Character of Volodymyr Zelenskyy", "Ukrainian Crimea", "Smoothie by a banderivets", "Palyanytsia" and "Russian warship, go fuck yourself".
The starting price of the token was 0.1 ETH. Everyone who bought NFT popcorn received a lifetime subscription to the cinema chain. The earned 7.5 ETH (₴676000) was transferred to the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Starbucks: NFT Tokens As An Admission Ticket To Premium Coffee Shops
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said the company plans to launch a branded NFT collection by the end of 2022. Token buyers will receive an invitation to private events at Starbucks Reserve Roastery premium coffeehouses and will even be able to visit Starbucks Hacienda Alsacia Coffee Farm in Costa Rica, a 240-hectare farm. Starbucks has already launched Starbucks Odyssey Beta.
https://twitter.com/jordanzakarin/status/1511173530699898885?embedable=true
Below are a few essential rules for eCommerce to keep in mind when entering the NFT space.
It Would Be Best If You Told Your Audience About NFTs
One of the best things Gary Vaynerchuk did before launching his NFT was to spend a month on Twitter educating his audience.
You must start by educating your audience about NFT and how to integrate it. Because NFT is still very new, many people are still somewhat skeptical. They don't yet know what a crypto wallet is, how to create it, or how to keep their funds safe once everything is done. You need to explain to your audience what NFT is. This will help the audience embrace it and move into the space together.
You Need to Learn The Community Aspect Of NFTs
NFTs allow creators and business owners to build a community with their audience.
Most of the NFT community is currently on Twitter and Discord. There are many correlations between building a community on Twitter or Discord and building a community on more traditional social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. But there are some things to keep in mind when working with the current NFT community.
For example, many people in NFT communities now operate anonymously, which means they don't use their real names, real photos, or public branding. This is the opposite of platforms like Facebook, which requires a real name, or Instagram and TikTok, which rely heavily on seeing the face behind the brand.
It Would Be Best If You Consider NFT's Long-Term Strategy For Business
One of the main things any marketer or business owner needs to keep in mind when they start creating NFTs is utility:
- What is the utility behind this NFT?
- What can it do?
- What can it unlock?
- What access does it give to the person who bought it?
Many companies are passionate about NFT and can't wait to create their first project, but they miss this vital step. So they launch an NFT without a plan, solid marketing strategy, or proven methods to let their communities know about their NFTs.
Just like when entrepreneurs start a new business, NFTs can fail at the same rate as a new business without these things in mind.
If an NFT is being created from scratch, you should approach it the same way you would a brand. It's not a project that will exist for the next 5-10 years. It's a brand that will exist. If you already have a brand but want to add NFT to it, you need to consider what utility NFT will add to the existing brand.
Ecommerce In The Metaverse
In 2022, Meta introduced Horizon Worlds, a virtual reality platform. Users can create an avatar to interact with each other. However, some metaverses, such as SecondLife, Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox, have been around for a long time. The latter is not just a game in the safe hands of Microsoft. Users can have fun, learn, and even stage performances here.
One of the reasons brands are interested in the metaverse is the concentration of a solvent audience. The average age of Minecraft players is 27. This is an audience that can afford to buy items in the metaverse. And it is growing up every year.
Inside the game, people rebuild things from the real world, filling Minecraft with what they like. For example, Ukrainian ATB supermarkets appear in Minecraft as game elements. But in the future, people will be able to buy a can of Pepsi and have a drone delivered.
https://youtu.be/DJNbW-1Ocww?embedable=true
In the meantime, big brands and even famous artists are taking their place in the metaverse, and here's how they do it.
Gucci Garden in Roblox
https://youtu.be/_mdGlzK5Wz8?embedable=true
To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Gucci built a virtual space called Gucci Garden on the Roblox gaming platform. Players could visit themed rooms, try on and buy accessories to wear in the game. For example, the Gucci Dionysus bag. It cost $3,400 in the physical store and $4,115 in the virtual store, and it was a great success. Why is this so? Because the experience of buying a handbag in the metaverse was unique and, therefore, more expensive than a regular visit to a store.
If you don’t know how Roblox works, I recommend you read my article The Multiverse of Madness: How Roblox Works.
Nike in Fortnite
https://youtu.be/HLGef6akVlA?embedable=true
The game's characters regularly wear Nike sneakers. On July 14, NBA star LeBron James' gear appeared in the item store. Sneakers, a tracksuit, and the King's backpack became available to the public.
Travis Scott's concert in Fortnite
https://youtu.be/wYeFAlVC8qU?embedable=true
The rapper's virtual concert was watched by 12.3 million players simultaneously. This is the most significant event in the game's history. Travis' giant avatar rapped, released shock waves, and turned into a cyborg. Each of the 5 concerts lasted 10 minutes.
The rapper earned $20 million from merchandise sales during one show. For comparison, one concert in the real Astroworld tour brought him $1.7 million.
Balenciaga in Fortnite
Balenciaga is another frequent guest of Fortnite. The company regularly releases a limited collection of clothes and accessories you can wear in the game. Some items can be bought in the branded store.
What is the metaverse about?
While the concept of a metaverse is not fully defined, there are several characteristics that are attracting big brands and ecommerce right now.
The metaverse is something that exists endlessly, works in real-time, and does not depend on external factors. In it, brands and ecommerce can give concerts, hold presentations, earn and spend money, communicate, and live.
Right now, the metaverse is a desert, and its inhabitants are grateful for everything that appears there. Suppose it is an advertising integration not just at the branding level but also an interesting mechanic or other game manifestations. In that case, there is a chance to become a favorite and be welcomed back next time. This is what Nike does in Fortnite.
Another feature is that there is no limit on the audience size. If, in the physical world, 100 people can visit a store simultaneously, then in the metaverse, you can invite 100,000. And there are no restrictions on COVID-19 certificates or face masks.
The metaverse should have an economy where people can spend and earn money. Most existing metaverses have their marketplaces and currency, as well as the ability to buy cryptocurrency with a regular bank card. The problem is that metaverse currencies are not convertible between them. Therefore, the economy should be based on cryptocurrency to avoid restrictions.
The metaverse combines the physical and digital worlds through mixed reality. We are seeing more and more technological developments: from Oculus Quest 2, which will be a guide to the metaverse for a long time to headsets in the format of ordinary glasses and even lenses, which are rapidly improving. Not to mention armbands that sense the pressure of virtual objects and robotic skin that simulates object interaction.
And the last point is content compatibility. I want to buy a car in GTA and give it to someone in Minecraft with the same value and gaming properties. NFT can easily handle the former, while the latter requires cross-game protocols to be agreed upon.
What advertising trends are waiting for Ecommerce in the metaverse?
We are lucky to be at the beginning of great opportunities: millions of doors to the metaverse appear in the complex but infinitely beautiful physical world. A lot of high-quality 3D content is needed, and its demand will grow. Nowadays, the "basic equipment" of a designer in agencies includes drawing skills and 3D modeling experience. Moreover, I predict the creation of agencies and studios specialized in advertising 3D development.
Brands and ecommerce will have to pay attention to new user metrics, studying what metaverses people live in, what objects they own, what locations they are interested in, etc. Being digital, such metrics will be much more accurate.
There will be new technical opportunities to interact with ads that users will be able to see through glasses or lenses.
Brands and ecommerce will integrate with gaming platforms more often. There is almost nothing in this world. We need to fill it with beautiful, interesting objects.
Companies will use mechanics that synchronize virtual and real events, such as the presentation of the Balenciaga collection. The simultaneous sales launch in physical and virtual stores will bring an unconditional profit.
Brands and ecommerce will have to rent physical space to advertise in mixed reality. Some companies already occupy their territory and announce prices for virtual advertising. And in such metaverses as Second Life, virtual real estate has been traded for more than 10 years.
Conclusion
As is the case with any new marketing channel, the companies that are the first to get to grips with the territory will have an advantage. The metaverse is ready for rapid growth, as evidenced by PwC and Deloitte's forecasts. And while some brands are still thinking about whether to fight for a place in the virtual sun, others are already creating new user experiences. So, it's time to jump on the train - then you will be among the leaders when the metaverse becomes our reality.
At the same time, NFTs aren't going anywhere. Their enormous potential has companies from almost every industry already looking for ways to incorporate NFT into their brands. Perhaps soon, we will see more NFT discussions on Facebook, TikTok and other social networks besides Twitter and Discord.
They may not even be called NFT in the future. No one knows what direction NFT and the metaverse will go.
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