One in five eventprofs ‘have no idea’ about the metaverse

Around one in five eventprofs have no idea what the metaverse is or what it could mean for our industry, according to an exclusive poll.

This edition of Chart of the Week highlights findings from ExpoPlatform and EIN’s special session investigating this virtual future for our industry.

We took a deep dive into what the metaverse might mean for tradeshows, featuring some top industry contributors and looked for feedback from our audience. 

Watch the full session on demand here.

A total of 18% respondents said they had no idea about the metaverse, while 35% said they knew just the basics.

It comes as Gartner research predicts that by 2026, 25% of people will spend at least an hour every day in the metaverse, whether for work, shopping, education, socialising, or entertainment.

Marty Resnick, research vice president at Gartner, said: “Vendors are already building ways for users to replicate their lives in digital worlds.

“From attending virtual classrooms to buying digital land and constructing virtual homes, these activities are currently being conducted in separate environments.”

“Eventually, they will take place in a single environment – the metaverse – with multiple destinations across technologies and experiences.”

He added that enterprises could improve and enrich their audience engagement models by “moving from a digital business to a metaverse business”.

The rise of digital currencies and emerging tech like nonfungible tokens – known as NFTs – will further augment this new virtual economy, the report states.

What’s behind the figures?

The metaverse is expected to influence new business models that focus on engagement through virtually enhanced physical and digital realities.

This is backed by estimates from Bloomberg, which projects the metaverse to reach $800 billion in value by 2024. Statista data has also shown consumer spending on this virtual shared space is anticipated to almost triple by 2023.

Nick Rosier, digital director at 2Heads, told the session: “We already live in the metaverse. A lot of technologies out there are used day to day which make part of what the metaverse will be – digital identity and avatars.

“We have profiles all over the web, we use ecommerce to make online payments, we have relationships with people online – people meet and maybe never meet face-to-face – but are still able to form real relationships.”

It follows two years where virtual events were forced into becoming a major part of our industry due to restrictions. Now, organisers want to use that technology to improve their live events.

This is why we have seen the emergence of Smart Events: in-person productions where digital tools enhance the value for all participants.

Book an appointment at the Smart Event Clinic to find out how technology can boost the value of your events.

Luke Bilton, ExpoPlatform chief growth officer, said: “It was a real period of improving virtual platforms. Where we are now is the Smart Events era.

“What we’re seeing is that organisers are very quickly moving away from doing virtual events and instead looking at how to blend some of the best bits from the virtual event period with in-person events.”

What does it mean for organisers?

Digital technology has radically altered the way events are organised and how attendees are engaged. This is just another step on that journey.

Metaverse enthusiasts want to use globally interconnected virtual and augmented reality environments to achieve boost communication and business on a massive scale.

Learn more about the opportunities currently available to make sure you futureproof your organisation:

Smart Events utilise data-driven tech to enhance value at every touchpoint during in-person events. This creates a richer audience experience to deliver quality leads and higher ROI. Download the Smart Event tech checklist to learn what tools can help you get started.

365 communities and online marketplaces that allow people to interact and network with each other any time of the year, browse products and services, conduct transactions and more.  Learn how you can set up a 365 community now.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article and found it useful. At ExpoPlatform, we want to help you build better events and communities. Please get in touch and ask for a demo here. Thank you.