How Can Businesses, Low-Tech Businesses in Particular, Benefit from the Metaverse? A Delphi Perspective from Academics

Two years ago, Meta was born, accompanied by the announcement of the Metaverse. The Metaverse would be a collection of 3D immersive ecosystems for people’s socialization. This innovative idea should allow one to live in the Metaverse as in real life without physical barriers. Attending shows, concerts, virtual travel, and caring for one’s health or education should be possible. In sum, a new marketplace is born. Amid such newness, the question of how businesses may benefit from the Metaverse arises. Albeit tech businesses must be comfortable and adapted to the potentialities of the new marketplace, the entrance of the low-techs may be more problematic. The study brings together a panel of academic experts to reflect on these questions. They agree that there is a myriad of potentialities in the new marketplace, not only for B2C but also for B2B. Low-techs may be less adapted to benefit from the Metaverse. A following-the-wave strategy must be avoided. On the contrary, investing in understanding the new paradigm and careful planning is essential. The Metaverse has no physical barriers, which tend to limit low-techs’ actions. Their nonexistence creates new opportunities and must be where customers are, after all. The Metaverse, however, still needs development to gain critical mass. Hardware easy to use, its cost, speedy and cheap Internet, and mainly, trustable and recognized currencies are still required. Nonetheless, the Metaverse may be a new world full of opportunities.