The much-hyped metaverse, a virtual world where users share experiences and interact in real-time within simulated scenarios, is encountering significant obstacles on its path to widespread adoption, according to a report from GlobalData, a prominent data and analytics company.
GlobalData’s latest report, titled “Metaverse – Thematic Intelligence,” points to several challenges that the metaverse is grappling with, including limited knowledge of the theme, unimpressed consumers, the postponement of projects by major tech companies, and concerns regarding privacy and security.
Nevertheless, the report forecasts the metaverse’s value to reach $400 billion by 2030, a substantial increase from the $48 billion estimated for 2022.
“The metaverse theme has lost its luster due to limited use cases and the limitations of underlying technologies like blockchain, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and digital twins. Without improvements in these technologies, the metaverse will continue to disappoint,” Rupantar Guha, Principal Analyst at GlobalData’s Thematic Intelligence team, said.
Technology companies need to develop user-friendly interfaces that seamlessly merge real and virtual environments while ensuring user safety and comfort during extended usage. He also stressed the importance of offering a diverse range of content to keep users engaged. Companies that confine themselves to a single content type risk limiting their revenue opportunities in the long run.
Although much of the metaverse’s hype has centered on consumer applications, the report suggests that solutions like data visualization, collaboration, and training will drive the adoption of the enterprise metaverse.
Furthermore, a recent report from Deloitte indicated that the United States is well-positioned to harness the potential of the metaverse and lead its global development. This is expected to bring significant economic benefits, potentially contributing between $402 billion and $760 billion to the annual GDP by 2035.
The report, sponsored by Meta Platforms, said American businesses are already using metaverse technologies to create new revenue streams and enhance existing ones. US brands and retailers have started selling virtual versions of their products in addition to physical goods, and other American companies are using the metaverse to market their physical products and enable customers to experience virtual try-before-you-buy opportunities.
