A virtual shopping video, supposedly depicting the future of mass-market consumption of the “Metaverse”, was widely viewed and shared. Problem: is this actually a date from 2017. So, futuristic or absurd?
Who can believe that? Well, almost every observer has returned to the Metaverse, one of the most used and less understood words in the world of technology starting in 2022.
It all started with a tweet from a Homo Diditalis, an account that claims to be dedicated to “ information at the heart of the metaverse “. He shared there, on January 3, 2022, a 2-minute video:” Here’s how Walmart visualizes your groceries in the Metaverse. ”
We dive into a first-person video game class, where a customer in the back of his virtual shopping cart walks through the shelves of a large American retail chain, helping him choose a not a real shop assistant.
The tweet, which has been shared 30,000 times, allowed this clip to get 7 million views. The video, however, has nothing to do with the Metaverse: it’s actually from 2017 and was invented by a startup called Mutual Mobile in “ shine in the South through the Southwest festival “, can we read on the company page, marked a developer. However, it was Walmart who approached him to “ redesign the shopping experience “.
At first glance, however, reinvention seems more than moderate. What we observed, in contrast, is that there is everything in the classic travel to a supermarket, the depressing wanderings and overdose of choice included. We even see, for a moment, the consumer grabbing a bottle of milk, but his virtual hand pushes it away due to a lack of interface accuracy. What adds difficulties to a virtual universe. Is the future here?
The Metaverse Exists, Because They Say It Exists
Discovering the actual year of making a music video is something to smile about, as it illustrates the excitement surrounding the development of a concept that exists only because someone said it existed. This guy isn’t just anyone: it’s Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of Facebook, in the end, we have to tell Meta now.
On October 28, the 37-year-old billionaire released a lengthy video in which he announced the transformation of his group (which includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus, no longer called Oculus, but Meta as well) futuristic ambitions: the development of Metaverse, a virtual universe project where people develop in 3D. To do this, Meta plans to hire 10,000 people over 5 years.
It was already pointed out at the time: the Metaverse didn’t exist as it looked corny anymore, with its false Second Life winds, frozen avatars, its virtual personalized outfits, transparent screens and its holograms are disturbing.
We think back to the videos of MagicLeap, the company that promised in 2015 that revolutionary “mixed reality” glasses (a mixture of virtual and magnified) will allow virtual elements to be seen in real life. Where can we ask now: what do I get by displaying my Gmail in augmented reality, almost in front of me?
Worse, the company’s promises have been in the past denied, when observers realized that MagicLeap was just making assumptions: the startup didn’t have the right technology or the software interface. Just ideas. Does that remind you of something?
So, yes, Mark Zuckerberg is not a young entrepreneur looking for fundraisers to help him build his project. Mark Zuckerberg has all the money he could possibly want: Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are worth hundreds of billions of dollars and his personal fortune is worth $ 129 billion.
If he wants, he can build his Metaverse from his own money. And yet, that’s not his greatest asset. Mark Zuckerberg’s biggest strength is that all the other guys want to be Mark Zuckerberg. Experts, investors, companies are so scared of “losing the boat” that their bosses have hundreds of thousands following Meta with their eyes closed.
It doesn’t matter that technological advances still can’t convince virtual reality, that the public doesn’t use any virtual or augmented reality tools, that all companies that start on the topic end up “pivoting towards B2B ”, which 30% of 40% of users suffer from cyberkinetosis or from the fact that we now call Metaverse everything and anything (even video games that have been around for many years).
“ Carrefour, first in the metaverse “, Can we read here. And why did he deprive himself? ” Tomorrow, the consumer will choose to live an experience of shopping for a brand, in -store, online via mobile or through a VR experience. “, assured Guillaume Cavaroc, commercial director of Meta France, continuing this most sad statement:” We can think of this in two ways: by creating augmented e-commerce through virtual reality experiences that allow the purchase of physical products in the metaverse; but also by offering dematerialized products and services in this ecosystem (around avatars for example).»
Back to virtual shopping. The joy of transforming a destructive consumer experience, but from the comfort of your sofa.
The future is now.
Or obviously, in 2017.