Direct To Avatar Economy

Welcome to the world of "direct to avatar", a fast-growing business model that engages in selling products and experiences directly to avatars (D2A) or digital identities, without relying on the supply chain that would normally occur in a physical shipment of a product.

The world has already entered the "experience economy" and its users are taking it to the level of a new parallel economy.

 

 

Is Direct To Avatar (D2A) The Future Of Direct-To-Consumer (D2C)?

 

Gartner predicts that by 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the Metaverse !

So far, almost 3 billion individuals (particularly Generation Z and Millennials) spend a significant amount of time and financial resources on gaming.

Generation Z uses the metaverse as a means to escape the harsh realities of life by immersing themselves in virtual worlds.

To engage Generation Z, brands must offer the possibility of creating personalised avatars. Therefore, establishing direct interactions with their virtual representations proves to be the most effective way to engage them within a brand universe and strengthen the bond with them.

Almost all of these games have their own currencies such as Robux in Roblox, Fortnite Coins in Fortnite . . . and encourage players to play, win, engage and purchase these coins to unlock new avatar-centred experiences.

 

 

Therefore, those days when some kids saved every buck by doing various chores or working a summer job to buy those popular sneakers or a sweater are over. Nowadays, children ask their parents to get Robux instead of physical money so that they can buy the skin of their favourite player in Roblox.

Revenues and growing users

 

Free games generated $20.6 billion in 2019. One of the biggest, League of Legends earned $1.5 billion in revenue from these skins in 2019. The other big name, Fortnite, generated $1 billion, of its $1.8 billion total, from game skins in the "avatar market".

• Players want avatars, skins and collectible contents.

Avatars are a direct reflection of a player's identity, especially if they are created as digital twins; the more users feel involved in their digital avatar, the more they would like to spend to dress the avatar better.

Is it just virtual goods? Yes, but the digital purchase allows the user to live vicariously through the clothes of their favourite designer, and it is this experience that forms the foundation of the Avatar Economy . .

 

 

How can brands succeed in the Direct-To-Avatar economy?

 

Brands are already getting on the direct-to-avatar train.

We will make an in-depth assessment of each of the building blocks:

- Gamified experiences: it is very important to gamify the product offering, bring creativity and add fun elements to the product or virtual shop to drive engagement. 

- Avatar customisation: providing the flexibility to create and customise avatars and making it interactive enough by giving the possibility to invest in it, enhances the 'user affinity' with the avatar. This, in turn, triggers in-game investments to dress the avatar, buy merchandise... which generates new business. 

The global market size of the metaverse is $65.5 billion in 2022 and is set to grow to $678.80 billion by 2030.

- Native trading tokens to facilitate "in-experience transactions": The altcoin market has exploded like never before and having a native branded metaverse currency improves brand loyalists' affinity.

- Partnerships and associations are very important to succeed in the 'direct to avatar' economy. This is because many of the innovators in the games industry such as Epic Games, Roblox, etc. already have an embedded presence in the meta-universe that can be leveraged by brands looking to enter the ecosystem. 

- Leverage non-fungible tokens (NFTs): NFTs are tokens used to represent ownership of unique objects. A number of celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon, Eva Longoria, Serena Williams, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and others have used NFT profile images on Twitter, ensuring immediate engagement with the crypto community and influencing entry choices in certain projects.

 

 

Did you know that NFTs allow creators to tokenize things like art, collectables and even real estate?

With every NFT sold of this type, creators can make money without depending on any intermediary. 

The full potential of the Direct-to-Avatar business model has yet to be realised but the fashion and luxury industries, however, have certainly already taken full advantage of this movement.

Beyond gaming and fashion, the Direct-to-Avatar market can extend the same way, the education sector will see significant improvements thanks to these game engines.

 

How could Direct-to-Avatar influence the education sector?

By exploiting virtual reality, students can teleport to the digital campus where they can then explore many categories of courses to learn.

 

 

Perspectives

 

Roblox is the largest game in the metaverse with more than 50 million daily active users and nearly 10 million developers on the platform.

67% of Roblox users are under 16 years old. For fashion brands, Roblox is a perfect gateway for Gen Z, a generation whose disposable income has reached about $360 billion, according to Gen Z Planet. 
They are a digital native generation and identify more with the virtual world than the physical world. 

In the metaverse, users can transform themselves into the kind of person they want to be. It is an escape route, a place of intrigue and an opportunity for brands to expand their reach and visibility. 

The next evolution of sales channels (D2A) will bypass humans completely, selling directly to our avatars creating a major new channel (digital retailing) for all kinds of products and services.