As a result of the global confinement that began due to the pandemic, many companies have looked to new technology trends as an opportunity to increase their sales and exposure. Although we know that the retail and consumer industry was venturing into electronic commerce, this has been accelerated abruptly to survive the contingency we are currently living in.
It is a fact that with all the changes that have occurred in the world recently, nothing will ever be like before, and in an increasingly competitive market, those who fail to look for new opportunities may end up with an obsolete business.
What is the new technology that many companies in the United States such as Apple, Facebook, PWX and Microsoft are investing in?
The metaverse has been defined as a network of virtual environments in which people can interact with one another or with objects digitally while operating avatars or virtual representations of themselves. In this virtual world, users can interact, play, work, learn, shop and develop different activities through the various tools provided with augmented reality. Although this may sound like a fantasy or a science fiction movie, this is currently being developed. Many technologists, in fact, point out that the metaverse could replace the current digital medium, which is why companies like Facebook, Nike, Microsoft are investing heavily in its development.
These virtual worlds are nothing new and have been seen mainly in the video game sector, but the metaverse does not seek or have the focus of being a fantasy world but an alternate reality in which the user is allowed to do some activities from the comfort of their own home. Of course, in the first instance, smart devices, sensors and augmented reality lenses would have to be used, but this would change as the development of this technology progresses.
Where does this new trend come from?
Some say that the metaverse will be the Internet’s successor. So, it is very important to understand who the players are because this experience will shape the future community and the global economy. On the one hand, there is Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook (who recently changed its name to Meta), who has invested in the development of augmented reality since 2012 and whose main purpose is that this metaverse becomes the new social space where you can play and work.
Then you have, Metaverse Group, who has been in charge of developing its spaces for digital fashion events and the sale of clothing for both users and avatars, which identifies a new opportunity for exponential growth in the metaverse.
The Sandbox and The Decentraland are two worlds in full development that already have investors, who have been in charge of acquiring properties and organizing events in this new universe, so its growth has become faster than planned. The Sandbox has focused on making online games, where you have the opportunity of earning crypto, it is still in an Alpha phase of development, so users who have invested early have preferential access to the games.
Microsoft, on the other hand, has opted for a mixed reality, where you can not only perform surgery or cook your favorite food, but also provide you with the spaces to hold virtual meetings through an avatar, where it is not necessary to have a camera on or go to a coworking space, but in the virtual space provided you have a meeting room and there you live the experience of a real meeting remotely.
There are major predictions that the metaverse will mature so quickly that in less than 10 years it will become a fully functioning economy and not just be a digital medium giving us virtual experiences like consoles do at this time.
What could it bring to the restaurant industry?
Today the trend in the restaurant sector is omnichannel, which refers to selling through all possible channels, both physical and virtual. This is something that an entrepreneur must take into account, since physical sales are not going to disappear because the customer likes the real experience, but consumption has also been digitized and having a presence on social networks, as well as promoting through electronic commerce, is the difference between thriving and not. As entrepreneurs we must be aware that marketing would be moving from a two-dimensional world to a three-dimensional world, where the image, text, video and audio become elements with a dimensional volume, which could take an important turn in advertising and participation in the metaverse.
The hotel and restaurant industry could be among the first to be part of this type of universe, because in addition to being able to replicate your own restaurant, it would allow users to interact with it. Think about your restaurant being the location where meetings can be held for work. The metaverse will allow users to get to know the spaces virtually as if they were there in reality.
Another possibility that could occur in this metaverse is that the ordering system could change, delivery applications could become obsolete and the way in which users can order food would be through digital interaction. By creating businesses and avatars, the users would be able to enter your restaurant, see your menu and generate an order to the virtual waiter, who will be in the establishment taking the order to send it to the user’s home. This would be game changing, think of all the possibilities. Another idea is that restaurants in the metaverse would benefit from the evolution of a digital menu, so that users will be able to see exact replicas of the dishes instead of seeing photographs, which will help the user have a better experience. This would increase sales both by the restaurant's average ticket and the number of reservations. Ultimately, users make decisions on where to eat and what to eat based on the physical aesthetics of the food and the restaurant’s design. In this manner the user would be able to appreciate the size, color, portions of the dish is an important sales technique.
The metaverse is getting closer to becoming our new alternate reality. Although it is in its initial testing stages, the opportunities are limitless. As entrepreneurs, we have to constantly look at the advances in technology that are presented to succeed and enter this new world in a competitive fashion. The successful entrepreneur is the one who is updated and takes advantage of changes and situations to grow his business. Are you ready for the metaverse?
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