The Retailer Winter Edition 2023

THE RE TA I L ER

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CAN THE PROMISE OF THE METAVERSE SUPPORT OUR HIGH STREETS?

Mary Wallace Retail & Consumer Behaviour SME IBM

H ow can high street businesses and

For example, the DAO – Decentralised Autonomous Organisation – col lective business model is created by a community of people with a common goal. All participants share the decision-making, management, and ownership of that business and what it produces, with visible deci sion-making processes. This could be a radical way for small businesses and communities to create a new layer of value for high streets, to collaborate and build their own ‘homegrown’ products and services. Sowhy aren’twe hearing more about the metaverse possibilities for the high street? I asked JackieMulligan, founder of ShopAppy , for her view from the streets: “Much of our high street and community is online already, but small indies need to weigh up the benefits of what they can do and why they might engage. After all, most local high street businesses start because they like real human connection.” Alexandra Forrest agrees: “We have to think responsibly and thoughtfully about whether the metaverse will enhance the customer experience and community connection to the physical high street, showcase product to the best effect and demonstrate the expertise of the retailer in the best way possible.” If you’re thinking that ‘Big Tech’ and ‘Small Business’ aren’t the best of bedfellows, consider that: • During the pandemic small retailers showed how adaptive they were by rapidly setting up commerce and delivery services to serve their communities faster and better than bigger retailers. • Local businesses constantly evolve their offerings and services, using that close, genuinely personal relationship with customers and communities as a key differentiator. • A mixed physical and digital hub of metaverse assets and services could create the means of collaboration, co-creation and partic ipation - not just for stores but for local community services and cultural centres.

communities be empowered and included by the possibilities of the metaverse?

The metaverse is set to expand the traditional idea of retail, creating commerce-enabled spaces which blur the lines across digital and phys ical worlds, instigating new consumption, production and commercial behaviours. The ‘metaverse promise’ seeks to build on a new set of human-centred values, such as: COMMERCE - The need for communities to fairly earn revenue. COLLABORATION - The need for interaction and co-creationwith others. COMMUNITY - The need for tribes, friendship, and identity at scale. COPRESENCE - The need for feeling in a place and/or with people. This values-driven commerce model–where brands and consumers can come together to create & sell goods and services – potentially means that retailers of all kinds can reach different customers, build better revenue models and optimize business models. Now, you may be thinking: Not another metaverse article! Isn’t this just more ‘tech wash’? How is this relevant to small businesses who are struggling with the cost of living crisis? As Alexandra Forrest, host of the ‘Independent Thinking’ high streets podcast, observes, “It feels like retailers have to jump through ever higher hoops to ensure their messaging reaches their audience.” But hang on. It’s vital that this next iteration of the internet - powered by 3D and multi-sensory environments which digitally augment our physical world – can be understood, accessed and used by everyone, fairly and equally. If we wrestle the ‘shiny new toy’ view of the metaverse from the hands of the tech bros, there is a real creative and business opportunity for high street communities to forge something useful and meaningful from the fire of all those buzzwords. So let’s take a moment to consider how we might apply this emerging model to high street retail.

high streets?” ‘‘

Could metaverse values contribute to the aims of the ‘Levelling Up’ agenda and foster greater innovation on our