Predicts A Quarter of US Population will Spend an Hour Per Day in the Metaverse by 2026

Most Americans probably have little idea what the “metaverse” is all about – even if some of those people are aware Facebook changed its corporate name to Meta last October - a rather direct way to signal where CEO Jeff Zuckerberg believes things are headed.

Supply Chain Digest Says...   Gartner also says that “The metaverse will impact every business that consumers interact with every day.” What do you say? Click here to send us your comments   Click here to see reader feedback

What is the metaverse? Wired magazine wrote in November that the metaverse is actually a collection of technologies, but led by virtual and augmented reality. But the metaverse is not just about virtual worlds as we might recognize from many video games experiences – there is also a transactional aspect, Wired said, where users can create, buy, and sell goods, among other activities.

Early examples exist now, such as through the Fortnite gaming platform. Wired notes somewhat disdainfully that the new Meta “thinks it will include fake houses you can invite all your friends to hang out in,” while “Microsoft seems to think it could involve virtual meeting rooms to train new hires or chat with your remote coworkers.”

Whatever the metaverse really is or more accurately will be, the analysts at Gartner seem to think it is coming fast.

Gartner defines a metaverse as a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality. It adds that a metaverse is “persistent, providing enhanced immersive experiences, as well as device independent and accessible through any type of device, from tablets to head-mounted displays.”

Got it?

In February, Gartner issued a press release predicting that 25% of people will spend at least one hour per day in the metaverse by 2026. That’s just around the corner – implying whole lot of technical development and changing behaviors over the next three years.

What will people be doing during their one hour daily sojourns into the metaverse? They will be going for “work, shopping, education, social and/or entertainment,” Gartner says.

We can hardly wait.

“Vendors are already building ways for users to replicate their lives in digital worlds,” said Marty Resnick, a research vice president at Gartner. Sounds like the “digital twin” concept we hear much about in terms of products and supply chain networks.

Gartner continues “From attending virtual classrooms to digital land and constructing virtual homes, these activities are currently being conducted in separate environments. Eventually, they will take place in a single environment – the metaverse – with multiple destinations across technologies and experiences.”

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That would involve “a type of file that includes characteristics you might enter into a character creator - like eye color, hairstyle, or clothing options - and let you take it everywhere,” Wired says.

Gartner expects the metaverse to have a virtual economy enabled by digital currencies and something called non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Gartner also says that “The metaverse will impact every business that consumers interact with every day.”

That’s a pretty bold statement, given the very earlier stages the technology – and adoption – is in. Gartner further says that metaverse will impact how work gets done.

“Enterprises will provide better engagement, collaboration and connection to their employees through immersive workspaces in virtual offices,” Gartner writes.

The good news of sorts? “Businesses will not need to create their own infrastructure to do so because the metaverse will provide the framework,” Garter predicts.  Even if accurate, it seems inevitable companies will still need to spend big bucks to leverage the platforms.

We note Deloitte has already launched a metaverse practice.

Wrapping it up, Gartner says that “Enterprises will have the ability to expand and enhance their business models in unprecedented ways by moving from a digital business to a metaverse business.”

So I guess will see you in the metaverse – in 2026.

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