Meta- verse.

What is called the metaverse

The metaverse is a collective name for virtual spaces where people are present as avatars and interact with each other and with digital objects in real time. There is no single metaverse: there are separate platforms, each with its own audience, rules and economy.

In practice it looks different from case to case. A virtual world with a permanent geography where you can rent premises. A gaming platform inside which concerts are held and branded locations are opened. A service for business meetings where participants share a common three-dimensional space rather than a grid of video tiles.

They have one thing in common: the person does not look at the content from the outside but is inside it. It is this difference that determines which tasks the format suits.

What changes in customer interaction

A virtual showroom. A product can be examined from any side, its dimensions assessed, and it can be seen in an interior. This closes the main weak point of online retail - the inability to touch. For furniture, equipment and complex machinery the difference is tangible.

Demonstrating what cannot be brought along. A production line, a house at the design stage, a large installation. Showing this physically at a meeting is impossible, but in a virtual space it can be done - together with the customer and at true scale.

Joint meetings. For complex products where the decision is made by a group, it matters that participants see the same object and can point to its parts. This is noticeably more productive than sending a presentation back and forth.

Events. A presentation, training, an opening - in a format the person remembers as an experience rather than as yet another webinar.

Behavioural data. In a virtual space you can see what a person walked up to, what they looked at longer, what they skipped. This is richer than ordinary web analytics but also more sensitive in terms of privacy.

Where the real value is and where the noise is

Value appears when volume and space genuinely matter for the purchase decision. Furniture, renovation, equipment, property, large industrial goods - here a virtual showing removes an objection that cannot be removed any other way.

There is value, too, where the product is complex and needs explaining by example. Showing how an installation works in a three-dimensional model is easier than describing it in words.

The noise begins when a virtual space is created for the sake of being present. A shoe shop in the metaverse that two people visit a week is not a sales channel but a line in a press release. If the format has no answer to the question “which customer decision does it speed up”, it is too early to invest.

One more sober point: the audience of these platforms in Russia is still small and specific. You cannot count on reach comparable to conventional channels.

What it costs and what it demands of the customer

The costs consist of three parts: three-dimensional models of the products, development of the space itself and its ongoing upkeep. The third part is usually underestimated: a virtual location where the range has not changed in six months looks abandoned.

The format demands effort from the customer, too. They need to install an app, work out the controls and sometimes have a suitable device. Each such step filters out some of the people, and the easier the entry, the higher the chance they reach you.

Hence the practical conclusion: it is wiser to start with lightweight formats that open straight in the browser. A three-dimensional product model on a product page or a room walkthrough with no app to install delivers most of the effect at incomparably lower investment. How such elements affect the purchase decision is covered in our piece on UX/UI design.

What is worth doing first

Before looking towards virtual spaces, it makes sense to make sure the basics are covered. Does the website work on a phone, is it clear from the product page what exactly you sell, do you respond to enquiries within a reasonable time.

Three-dimensional models and virtual tours are useful in their own right, outside the metaverse: they can be put on the website, sent via a messenger, used in a presentation. Starting with them, you get an asset that will be useful in any scenario.

Video serves as a good intermediate step. It asks nothing of the customer beyond pressing a button, and it solves some of the same tasks - showing volume, process, scale. More in our article on video marketing.

How to approach it if the topic is yours after all

Start with one scenario and one question: which customer objection are you closing. “I don't understand how it will look in my place”, “I can't picture the size”, “I don't believe it will fit” - these are the phrases the format is suited to.

Build a minimal version for one product category and show it to real customers. Look not at the delight but at whether there are fewer clarifying questions and whether the decision is made faster.

Set aside a budget for updating the content and appoint someone responsible. A virtual space is not a one-off project but a channel that needs regular work.

And compare honestly with the alternative: if the same task is solved by quality photography and a detailed product page for a tenth of the money, choose what is cheaper.

The visual side of such projects - from three-dimensional models to styling the space in your brand identity - is the work of design and branding. We take it on separately from the technical implementation so that you can use the finished materials in any channel.