• by Ray Schultz , April 22, 2022

Here’s a comforting thought for email marketers who are themselves confused by the Metaverse: 49% of consumers haven’t heard of it, and 27% know little more than the name, according to 2022 Consumer Trends: Metaverse & Social Commerce, a study by CommerceNext. 

Another 20% of consumers know what the metaverse is but don’t know how to interact with it, and a mere 5% are familiar with it and are excited to use it. 

Perhaps predictably, 55% of people ages 50-59 have not heard of the phenomenon. But 50% of those in the 19-29 cohort say the same. The greatest familiarity with the metaverse is among those in the 30-39 and 40-49 age groups. 

The study also found that 82% never use virtual gaming worlds such as Roblox, Fortnite, or Second Life for anything. 

But if they were to embrace virtual gaming or 3D in the future, those who have presumably heard of the metaverse and virtual gaming would want to:

• Try on clothing — 27%
• Shop with friends — 21%
• Shop in a virtual mall — 34%
• Get advice from a sales associate — 11%
• Try on makeup or beauty products — 14%
• Buy a hairstyle or haircut for my avatar (defined as a digital illustration of the user) — 13%
• Try on glasses/sunglasses that I could purchase in real life — 21%
• Get beauty and fashion tips and tricks — 12%
• Buy digital clothing or accessories for my avatar—12%
• Buy real-life products — 41%
• Attend a virtual fashion show — 12%
• Attend a concert, sports event, or other event — 38%
• Purchase a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) such as art, collectible cards, fashion or virtual land — 8%

Meanwhile, the respondents say they do the following when shopping online:

• Buy something featured on TikTok, Instagram, Tableshop Live, etc.) — 19%
• Purchase something promoted on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Snap, etc. — 40% 
• Purchase using a voice assistant like Alexa, Siri, Google, etc. — 8%
• Purchase via virtual reality headset (Oculus, Samsung, etc.) — 4%
• Buy while talking to a store employee via video chat (Facetime, Zoom, etc.) — 7%
• Use a chat app like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, etc. to purchase — 12% 
• Purchase an outfit/accessory for your digital avatar (Reblox, Fortnight, etc.) — 7%
• Purchase a non-Fungible Token including digital art, collectible cards, fashion, virtual land, etc.) — 3% 
• Purchase a digital product within a video game — 12% 

The study is based on two surveys fielded by CommerceNext in February 2022 through BizRate Insights.