It was a bit naive of me to think that right away everybody would jump on this bandwagon, but they are starting to introduce parts and pieces and the idea of the metaverse is not lost. Ikea just announced that they're working with Roblox on creating a store in the Metaverse with live people as workers. So I think it's just a matter of time. Marcus Johnson (05:42):. Okay, we'll see.

Around the World: 2024 global predictions ('Shark Tank'-style)—Retail media rivals, metaverse shopping experiences, and more. Sources. Atlantico. Banco Central do Brasil (BCB). Banco de México (Banxico). Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Centro Regional de Estudos para o Desenvolvimento da Sociedade da Informação (CETIC.br). Comité Gestor da Internet no Brasil (CGI.br).

Conversely, ownership of VR headsets went down by about 8% in the region, underscoring the fading novelty of those products as the metaverse takes a back seat to other technologies like generative AI. Country Highlights. Argentina. Argentina’s ownership of PCs/laptops rose in 2023—with just over three-quarters of respondents reporting ownership.

Instead, it invested in TikTok, metaverse, and gaming ads. And Nationwide has shifted to digital to measure the efficiency of its tactics, according to CMO Ramon Jones, as quoted in an October 2022 report by AdAge. Some insurers are resuming spending as rate actions soften.

You do wonder what this kind of rush to put AI in everything, what kind of an impact that does have because it's something like the Metaverse, the metaverse might be a thing, but when you say that word, it kind of conjures up certain feelings towards what that looks like and how people have experienced it.

This strikes me as a bit of a similar paradigm to the metaverse and virtual reality, where everybody was talking about it in the 1990s, which was a time that happened a long time ago. So I mean, you have players like Waymo, Cruise, and Tesla that are trying to solve this whole entire dilemma, but part of the problem is, A, some people just don't want this problem to be solved.

The metaverse will garner little interest, but livestreaming events are on the rise. The metaverse has failed to gain traction among consumers and industry professionals in Latin America, making it more like the “meh-taverse.”

Roblox introduces immersive video ads to capture Gen Z's attention: New ad format expected to boost brand engagement and user actions.

After a 10 year effort, meta is throwing in the tout to focus on building AI and Metaverse technologies they believe will fundamentally reshape the way we work. Carissa, what's your take on this move by Meta to Sunset Workplace? Carissa Flinders (19:25):. Yeah, I think that we've seen Meta do this a few times, right? Specifically within the Instagram app. We saw them do this with shopping.

UK retailers have yet to embrace the metaverse en masse, but many are successfully using AR, enabling online shoppers to virtually try on clothing and visualize how furniture would look in their rooms. UK shoppers are still relatively skeptical about using AR/VR.

Despite metaverse woes, Big Tech still has high hopes for AR devices. In 2022, all attention was on the metaverse—specifically a version of it based around VR. The hype has subsided, but Big Tech continues to invest in immersive technologies, with several companies focusing more on AR than VR. The future of AR may revolve around new devices.

Web3 and metaverse technologies could help marketers hit their goals. While companies are pulling back on metaverse investments, the development of underlying technologies and user trends could still have an impact on gaming this year. These technologies will drive user adoption and create more opportunities to include creative content within games. Age demographics are changing.

Metaverse hype takes a back seat. The metaverse and NFT buzz that fueled last year’s event was largely absent this year. Instead, while SXSW was going on, Meta quietly announced it was withdrawing support for NFTs. More brands are taking a wait-and-see approach.