According to new research, by 2026, 25% of individuals would have spent at least one hour each day in the metaverse for work, shopping, education, socializing, or amusement.
According to a report released Monday by technology research and consulting firm Gartner, brands are already constructing infrastructure to allow their users to digitally reproduce their lives in anticipation of this metaverse migration.
Brands will need to collaborate in order to unify the metaverse, according to Gartner, Vice President Marty Resnick, since their users want virtual, interactive, three-dimensional experiences.
“These activities are currently being undertaken in distinct worlds,” he added, “from attending virtual schools to buying digital land and constructing virtual homes.”
By 2026, he estimates that 30% of the world’s organizations will have products and services in the metaverse:
“Eventually, they will take place in a single environment — the metaverse — with multiple destinations across technologies and experiences.”
The global metaverse market is expected to reach over $42 billion by 2026, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. However, according to a Grayscale analysis released in November, the overall valuation might exceed $1 trillion in the coming years. Between the beginning of 2020 and June 2021, the number of active metaverse users surged by tenfold.
In any case, Terra Virtua co-founder and CEO Jawad Ashraf believes the study shows that the metaverse will revolutionize how people engage with virtual surroundings, anticipating that it would become a destination for social gatherings, business meetings, gaming events, music concerts, and more.
“It may be too early to predict exactly what the metaverse will become, but what we do know is it will open up completely new experiences and enhance our lives.”
Resnick cautioned businesses and investors to proceed with care, citing the immature and dispersed adoption of metaverse technologies. “It’s still too early to tell which investments will be viable in the long run,” he said.
“Product managers should take the time to learn, explore and prepare for a metaverse in order to position themselves competitively.”