July 21, 2022
Employees
52% of employees are open to meetings in the metaverse, while 47% are “okay” with representing themselves as avatars in these virtual meetings. (Microsoft Work Trend Index)
One quarter of employees have already experimented with extended reality. A further 44% are interested in trying it. (CCS Insight)
Lenovo found that 44% of employees are prepared to work in the metaverse, compared to 20% unwilling to work with the technology.
Only 42% of employees are “very familiar” with the metaverse. 57% are interested in experimenting with immersive work. (ExpressVPN)
Some of employees’ biggest fears when it comes to the metaverse are real-time location surveillance (51%), biometrics or facial recognition (40%), and time tracking (47%). (ExpressVPN)
Generational Differences
51% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennial workers are interested in using the metaverse for work, compared to 37% of Gen Xers and just 27% of Boomers. (Microsoft Work Trend Index)
92% of Gen Z want to use AR for shopping. 60% said that AR experiences feel more personal and over half would be more likely to pay attention to an ad that uses AR. (Snap)
27% of Gen Zers say they would be “very comfortable” using digital avatars for virtual meetings at work, compared to 32% of Millennials, 21% of Gen Xers, and 12% of Baby Boomers (Morning Consult)
57% of people prefer telecommuting and 51% say they would consider switching to mixed or hybrid offices next year. (Great Expectations: Making Hybrid Work Work by Microsoft)
When asked about their decision to use the metaverse, 36% of Gen Zers considered “lower-priced VR headsets” to be “very important” to their decision (Morning Consult)
When asked about their decision to use the metaverse, 22% of Gen Zers considered “government-enacted regulations” to be “very important” to their decision (Morning Consult)
When asked about their decision to use the metaverse, 20% of Gen Zers considered “my workplace using the metaverse” to be “very important” to their decision (Morning Consult)
Employers
CCS Insight forecasts businesses will purchase 13 million extended reality devices in 2025.
71% of global executives believe the Metaverse will positively impact their organizations. (Accenture)
Around 58% of businesses will use metaverse technology in the next 2 years. (World Economic Forum)
69% of employers are “very familiar” with the metaverse. 77% are interested in experimenting with immersive work. (ExpressVPN)
49% of employers plan to embrace a hybrid model of work in the future. (ExpressVPN)
By 2026, 30% of organizations in the world will have products and services ready for the metaverse. (Gartner)
$$$
The global metaverse market is estimated to reach nearly $400 billion in the next two years. (Yahoo Finance) Bloomberg, however, forecasts the market will reach $783.3 billion in 2024. (Bloomberg Intelligence)
2019 was the first year that enterprise spending on XR eclipsed consumer spending. (Harbor Research)
23 million jobs will be impacted by AR and VR by 2030, boosting the global economy by a potential $1.92 trillion. (PwC)
Corporations, private equity companies, and venture capitalists made an estimated $120 billion in metaverse-related investments during the first 5 months of 2022. (McKinsey)
Marketing
19% of online adults in the U.S. (13% in the UK) think companies should build more branded experiences in the metaverse. (Forrester Research)
22% of U.S. respondents said brands should advertise in the metaverse. (Statista)
People have already spent $200M on metaverse items. (Grayscale)
A recent study by Meta’s Foresight group found “with 90% confidence” that campaigns combining business-as-usual (BAU) ads and AR ads outperformed BAU campaigns alone in driving brand awareness. Campaigns incorporating AR also have a 59% lower cost for driving awareness. (Meta)
Consumers found AR ads to be 5% more informative and 6% more useful than traditional pre-roll ads, and AR ads made them feel closer to the brand 1.3x more and got them excited about the brand 1.1x more. (Snap, Magna)
Consumers are 41% more likely to consider a brand if they have a branded AR experience. (Deloitte, Snap)
Over 250 million Snapchat users engage with AR content every day. Snapchat’s AR Lenses generates an average of 6 billion plays per day. (Snap)
AR-supported ad campaigns are almost 3x more effective than non-AR campaigns. (Meta)
Users
75% of the global population and nearly all smartphone users will be frequent AR users by 2025. (Snap)
Gartner believes that 25% of individuals will spend at least one hour per day in the Metaverse by 2026.
There were an estimated 58.9 million VR users and 93.3 million AR users in the U.S. in 2021. (eMarketer)
A study estimates there will be 1.7 billion mobile AR users in 2024. (Statista)
34% of AR users say they’re inclined to share their AR experiences with friends. (Snap, Publicis, Alter Agents)
41% of U.S. adults say their reason for wanting to join the metaverse is to experience things they’re unable to experience in physical reality. (Statista)
Meta expects a billion people in the metaverse by 2030, while Citi predicts there could be up to 5 billion by that point.
14.94 million AR and VR devices are expected to ship to customers worldwide by the end of 2022. (IDC)
Retail / Ecommerce
Half of the 18% compound annual growth in VR sales through 2028 are expected to be in retail stores, car showrooms, and real estate offices (Grandview Research)
100 million consumers shop with augmented reality online and in stores today. (Snap)
33% of consumers still prefer shopping at physical stores where they can view, touch, and interact with physical products. (Raydiant)
Augmented reality product experiences lead to a 94% higher conversion rate (Snap). The use of AR increases retail conversation rate by 3.5x (Avataar)
80% of AR shoppers feel more confident in their purchase when using AR. (Snap, Publicis, Alter Agents)
Two-thirds of consumers are less likely to return a product after using an AR feature. (Alter Agents)
69% of consumers think AR is the future of shopping. (Alter Agents)
40% of consumers said they would pay more for a product they could customize in AR. (Threekit)
25% of beauty product shoppers would substitute AR for an in-person shopping experience compared to 26% clothing, 26% food and beverage, and 28% travel. (Snap)
96% of shoppers would be interested in using post-purchase AR experiences. (Snap, Publicis, Alter Agents)
37% of Gen Z and Millennial shoppers have used AR to virtually try on items such as glasses, shoes, and clothes, compared to 20% of those 45 and up. (Snap)
Training
One estimate puts the average instructional design, creation, and management of a full VR training program between $40,000 and $155,000. (Roundtable Learning)
Employees trained with VR learned up to 4x faster than traditional classroom learners. (PwC)
VR training drove a 76% increase in learning effectiveness over traditional instructional methods. (Stanford University and Technical University in Denmark)
The retention rate of VR is commonly found to be 75% compared to 5% for lectures, 10% for reading, and 20% for audiovisual learning. (National Education Association)
When practicing soft skills, VR simulations teach learners faster and create a “stronger emotional bond” to the content. (PwC)
Using VR to train large numbers of people over time can be more cost-effective than live, in-person simulations. (CIN)
24% of Gen Zers would feel “very comfortable” using VR headsets for training and professional development, compared to 31% of Millennials, 21% of Gen Xers, and 13% of Baby Boomers. (Morning Consult)
Training and industrial maintenance are the commercial use cases expected to receive the largest investment (an estimated $4.1 billion) in 2024. (Statista)
Misc.
In the first 6 months of 2022, the word metaverse appeared in regulatory filings more than 1,100 times compared to 260 mentions the previous year (U.S. SEC)
54% of tech experts expect the metaverse to be a much more refined and truly immersive, well-functioning aspect of daily life for half a billion people or more by 2040 compared to 46% who believe the opposite. (Pew Research)
A late 2021 global survey found that 39% of internet users perceive the biggest benefit of the metaverse to be “overcoming obstacles e.g. disabilities that prevent us from doing something in real life. Other perceived benefits included enhancing creativity (37%), upskilling (34%), and new job opportunities (30%). (Statista)
