According to recent research, the virtual world market is poised to hit $800 billion in market value by 2024. The massive wave of business moving into the virtual world is triggering many changes in how consumers shop and how businesses source and analyze customer data.
Projections show that virtual worlds will spike internet usage 20 times by 2024. This surge will increase the raw user data that businesses can leverage to transform their understanding of their consumer, which will change how they sell to them, bumping revenues.
But how do you analyze data in virtual worlds?
Some of the top considerations for businesses include data portability, data ownership, data interoperability, and the engineering of massive data.
Here’s a look into why businesses need to analyze data in virtual worlds and how your business can be responsible in the process.
Why Should You Think About Data in Virtual Worlds?
Virtual worlds offers a connected 3D virtual world that merges the real and digital worlds using technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI). VUsers can access these environments using specialized equipment and technologies such as VR headsets, apps, and AR glasses.
Virtual worlds allows users to own digital assets and experience virtual environments, producing layers of vital data in the process. Businesses can make sense of this raw data through virtual world data analytics and use it to direct their selling activities within virtual environments.
Massive Data Generation
The amount of data generated from simple virtual world interactions can be massive. Research shows that just 20 minutes of using VR can generate about 2 million unique data elements. When combined with AR and AI, these unique data elements can proliferate.
Virtual worlds has opened new selling doors for businesses, from interactive virtual showroom experiences to complex worlds where users can own property, attend concerts, and have virtual hangouts.
For instance, Sandbox has made a name for itself as the go-to virtual world for exclusive concerts, virtual hangouts, and exclusive property. Recently, famous rapper Snoop Dogg sold a virtual property to a user in his virtual world Snoopverse, which he’s co-developing with Sandbox, for $500,000.
We’ve also worked closely with big brands to make their shopping experiences virtual. For instance, P&G partnered with us to create a virtual showroom for their customers to experience their CES 2020 mega booth virtually and see what they had to offer.
However, for all these efforts to succeed, businesses must utilize the tons of data users generate through their activity to power clever marketing and sales strategies. With virtual worlds, companies also have a unique opportunity to transform how they engage with their audience.
A New Way of Approach Data Analytics
Data for virtual worlds is disruptive and makes forecasting for businesses much more accurate. Tapping into this data requires enterprises to consider automation and new disruptive data analytics techniques.
There are also concerns surrounding data privacy and security in virtual worlds that businesses must address.
Integration is another core concern to ensure data easily sits at the forefront of marketing strategies for brands selling in any virtual world implementation.
The Four Key Considerations for Businesses Seeking to Source and Analyze Business Data for Virtual Worlds
There are four key considerations businesses must make to successfully source and analyze data and drive clever sales and marketing strategies for your virtual worlds. They include the following:
Data Portability
Data portability is how data moves across different applications and, in this case, virtual worlds. In the virtual world, more people and organizations will store data in the cloud. Moreover, users can seamlessly move from one virtual world to another, transferring their digital assets in the process.
Businesses should ensure that their virtual world data is highly portable to support this unique user behavior and save on storage costs across multiple virtual world providers.
For instance, your brand can have a standard and open format for storing and transferring data that can be used across different virtual world implementations. Therefore, as the user migrates across different virtual worlds, you can still access and store relevant business data to deliver your services to them.
Data Ownership
There are substantial privacy concerns about data in the virtual world. Industry speculation is that the virtual world will allow for more intrusive and “intimate” data tracking based on individual behavior.
Companies will be able to monitor their customers’ physiological responses and biometric data, including vocal inflections, facial expressions, and other vital signs, in real time.
Since their announcement of transitioning towards the virtual world, reports show that Meta (previously Facebook) has made several patent filings for face and eye-tracking technologies. These technologies are intended to collect the user’s biometric data and improve their virtual world experience.
While such behavioral data can be a goldmine for marketers and advertisers, increased regulation is needed to protect user data privacy.
Businesses that show they respect data privacy and ownership by the user and are honest about what they collect and why they collect it will win consumer trust and suffer fewer regulatory sanctions.
This is why ByondXR follows this policy while providing our partner brands with virtual world data to ensure compliance and complete consumer trust.
Interoperable Data
Data interoperability in virtual worlds is closely tied to portability. Data interoperability means that your data is viable and usable across multiple virtual worlds.
Your virtual world data should flow uninterrupted across different systems, customers, and suppliers, reducing the need for managing multiple virtual world identities.
For instance, your brand can ensure that business data across virtual worlds are seamlessly integrated. Moreover, the data systems should be reusable, with a timely exchange of relevant business data when needed.
Engineering Massive Raw Data
Statistics show that we will have generated over 180 zettabytes of data by 2025. While storing such massive data is a feat, deriving value from it is much more complex. This is one of the most significant technical challenges for businesses analyzing virtual world data.
Your enterprise should start investing in quality data engineers and analysts who’ll optimize and monitor virtual world data, improving your data analytics and engineering efficiency.
This also includes adopting predictive analytics and AI/machine learning to forecast supply and demand and model more accurate “what if” scenarios, reducing business risks.
How Your Business Can Employ Responsible Data Collection
Here’s how your business can employ responsible data collection within virtual worlds and save on reputation, costs, and data analytics performance.
Collect Only What You Need
Only consume the data you need to deliver better services and experiences to your virtual world users. Collecting any more data might lean your enterprise more towards infringing on the user’s data privacy and paying expensive storage costs for extra data you don’t need.
Don’t Sell User Data
User data on the virtual world should not be for sale to comply with stricter data privacy regulations.
Get User Consent
Even if you’re not selling user data, only collect it after obtaining consent. This will ensure that you’re not infringing on their data privacy.
Allow Users to Delete their Data
Users should have the freedom to delete their data at any moment. This will show that you respect and comply with data privacy laws.
Start Your Journey Today
The virtual world presents a new dawn for e-commerce. Get in touch with an expert today and learn how your brand can enter virtual worlds through engaging virtual experiences.
