The merchants of meta: A research agenda to understand the future of retailing in the metaverse

【Author】 Yoo, Kiwoong; Welden, Roman; Hewett, Kelly; Haenlein, Michael

【Source】JOURNAL OF RETAILING

【影响因子】11.190

【Abstract】Due to rapid technological developments, the metaverse is quickly garnering attention from all areas of retailing. With a projected market of $800 billion by 2024, the metaverse is expected to radically reshape retailing in the digital world. However, very little is known about the metaverse from a customer, retailer, or brand perspective. This article summarizes how the metaverse has been conceptualized thus far in the literature and the popular press. The authors offer a new conceptualization of the metaverse that contains four distinct dimensions: online collaboration, high consumer immersion, unique digital assets, and digital personas.Considering that the technologies currently used to provide high consumer immersion (e.g., augmented reality, virtual reality) and unique digital assets (e.g., blockchain technology) are not fully developed or commercialized, the authors also propose the concept of a transitory metaverse to understand the current stage of metaverse development better.The authors conclude by providing 27 directions for future research based on a full factorial of how the metaverse dimensions amplify three customer touchpoints in the digital experience (digital economic exchange, complex social relationships, direct environment interaction) for the three main stakeholders of any retailing exchange (consumers, retailers, brands) along the entire customer journey (pre-purchase, purchase, post-purchase).& COPY; 2023 New York University. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

【Keywords】Metaverse; Transitory metaverse; Virtual reality; Augmented reality; Blockchain; Non-fungible token

【发表时间】2023 JUN

【收录时间】2023-07-11

【文献类型】观点阐述

【主题类别】

区块链应用-虚拟经济-元宇宙