The Metaverse: Megatrend or Market Noise?

The metaverse seems like a pretty cool place, but do you want to live there? And do you take the red pill or the blue pill? Reminiscent of the popular Matrix movie trilogy, the metaverse is a fully immersive virtual world people can interact through three-dimensional avatars and engage in activities like gaming, concerts or live sports using virtual reality headsets like Oculus. Facebook saw it as a big enough deal that it warranted a 2021 rebranding to Meta, although the name change hasn’t really caught on yet.

Now metaverse-ians can get well togged out in stylish duds. Victoria’s Secret is the latest apparel purveyor to set its sights on the metaverse, filing a series of trademark applications earlier this month for downloadable virtual goods, virtual retail services and entertainment in the form of NFTs. It joins luxury brands Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada, sports apparel icons Adidas and Nike, retail giant Walmart and food/restaurant chains McDonald’s and Panera, as well as Miller Lite.

So, what does this mean for brands and retailers? We explore this topic with Nexla CEO Saket Saurabh to learn more.