Metaverse offers sales potential to trade and service providers

KPMG survey of 14-39 year-olds indicates buying interest

KPMG survey of 14-39 year-olds indicates buying interest

Berlin, 12 December 2022

For retailers and service providers of certain product groups and offers, the virtual world of the metaverse can represent a central sales market where younger target groups can be reached. This is indicated by the results of a joint survey by the market research institute SINUS and KPMG entitled "Metaverse: (Un)known World?" among more than 2,000 German citizens between the ages of 14 and 39.

According to the survey, one in two respondents is willing to buy physical products in the digital world. 61 percent could imagine buying clothes or shoes, one in two could warm to buying cosmetics, drugstore items or DIY supplies in the metaverse. Still, 43 percent are willing to buy groceries in the virtual world. Depending on the offer, between 35 percent (investment advice) and 58 percent (continuing education courses) also consider the use of various services to be a realistic option. The interest in buying digital products in the metaverse currently still seems a little restrained in comparison. But although this type of consumption has only been around for a short time, almost one in three can already imagine buying virtual clothing, for example, for their avatar. With increasing metaverse use, it can be assumed that demand in the three product groups will continue to increase.

Comparing consumer spending with interest in the Metaverse reveals a forward-looking difference: nearly 80 percent of respondents have spent money on online purchases in the past year, but less than half can currently imagine shopping in the Metaverse.

Colette Lala, Sector Manager Retail at KPMG: "This difference of more than 30 percentage points holds enormous potential for the trade of goods and services in the Metaverse against the background of the increasing popularity of the Metaverse - always provided that the appropriate target groups are reached. In accordance with the hypothesis that every euro can only be spent once, the question arises here: will consumers leave it in the online world or in the metaverse?

Your contact

Thomas Blees

Deputy Head of Corporate Communications
KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft