WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IMMERSIVE COMMERCE BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE
It was roughly 20 years ago that I was first mesmerized by what an Xbox could do. As a kid whose parents never even let her have an Atari, it wasn’t the graphics or the gameplay or the sound that left me awestruck. Watching (relatively) grown men wearing headsets, oscillating from profanity-laced cries to giggling like girls at a sleepover? That was something to behold.
Really, though – it's been almost 20 years since the launch of Xbox Live. Two decades later, why are we still only utilizing both the technology and the gathering power of online gameplay for, well, games? Consider the avenues that open up when your storefront goes truly digital: What kind of world do you want to create? What if anything was possible?
Put Me In, Coach
I’m going to make a sweeping generalization here, but girls have been left out of the strategic planning in online gaming since the outset. By “girls” I am being inclusive of everything that is not hyper-masculine. I am so grateful for the more diverse content in publication these days, but those spots have been hard-won, both figuratively and literally.
I am not a girly-girl, whatever that means. I didn’t plan my dream wedding as a child, my college roommate taught me how to use makeup (thanks, girl!), and nearly all my friends are guys. That having been said, I don’t think there’s much about me that could be dubbed “masculine” aside from my foul mouth. For the first 10 years of post-Xbox life, online gaming held little appeal. What absolutely did appeal to me, however, was the camaraderie.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Why has it taken 20 years to make the leap from traditional online gaming to quite literally everything else? As an adult who spent her childhood moving every couple of years, I would watch people play Xbox Live with friends and family members both across the street and across the globe – it was truly magical.
While I never found a game that held my interest, let alone was worthy of scheduling time with friends, there are innumerable ways the same technology could scratch other itches, if you will. I would love to walk back into that Betsey Johnson store in Georgetown. And I would love for it to be 1997, and for my college friends to be there. And while the virtual store would feel nostalgic, the offerings would be current, meaning I could both engage with and purchase products.
There are no limits to the possibilities that await in the metaverse, and this is the pivotal moment in e-commerce. Only one question remains: Is your brand taking steps today to be a leader in iCommerce future?
