Customers buy into high-tech consumption

Metaverse

Immersive digital technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality, which are vital to the metaverse, have the potential to change the way people shop by creating simulations of merchandise and providing interactive consumer experiences.

Rather than replacing physical retail outlets, the futuristic marketplaces have been built to better serve consumers' needs, experts said.

Alibaba's Tmall platform has unveiled about 10,000 3D virtual "model houses" in collaboration with offline furniture retailers. The models allow online customers to place virtual furniture in their homes to see how it will look without having to visit a store in person. Designers can customize furniture and decorations according to a customer's preferences.

JD launched a digital platform where shoppers can visit a virtual environment to view items such as furniture and household goods. It has cooperated with more than 1,000 brands and created 3D models for over 100,000 products, covering building materials, furniture, soft decorations, kitchenware and other household goods.

China has also rolled out favorable policies to better embrace the opportunities the metaverse presents. In November, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and several other ministries jointly released a plan to integrate VR technology into industrial applications.

By 2026, the total scale of China's VR industry, including related hardware, software, and applications, will exceed 350 billion yuan, the plan said. Meanwhile, the country aims to cultivate 100 enterprises with strong innovation ability and industry influence, while sales of VR terminals aim to top 25 million units.

Authorities in Beijing, Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang have launched guidelines and action plans for the metaverse sector, hoping to gain an early advantage in the global race to benefit from the next generation of technology.

"E-commerce has served as a key application scenario for the metaverse, and a multitude of new business models have already emerged," said Yu Jianing, executive director of the metaverse industry committee at the China Mobile Communications Association, a Beijing-based industry association.

Yu said the application of VR and AR technologies to online marketplaces has not only improved consumers' experiences of remote shopping and boosted consumption during the pandemic, but also spearheaded a new consumption trend.

Pointing to home decoration as an example, Yu said with the help of metaverse-related technologies, consumers can experiment with putting furniture in different places, offering an immersive and interactive experience that makes shopping more convenient.

The metaverse will play an active role in empowering the real economy, and promoting in-depth integration of the digital world with the real world, Yu added.