How to Develop a Metaverse in Fashion Retail Platform?

The continuously changing digital realm has made it possible for every business to find new ways of staying relevant globally, and fashion houses are no different. Let’s talk about the metaverse in fashion retail, which is a perfect example of how digital transformation has gained steady momentum in the fashion industry. 

But the bigger question is – how should these elite fashion brands tackle the challenges of digitization and leverage from it? Well, the answer to all their problems is Metaverse. This virtual reality marketplace is the next face of retail, and amalgamating both will redefine online shopping for every individual. 

Metaverse has the power to tackle the most challenging drawback of online shopping and retail, and that is allowing the users to feel, try and touch clothes before buying them online. Well, what better place than this 3D marketplace backed by AR and VR to try something new yet have an extraordinary experience every time? 

The world recently witnessed its first-ever metaverse fashion week hosted in Decentraland – the elitist 3D virtual world that has already taken the world by storm. Several exorbitant brands like Gucci, Roberto Cavalli, and Ralph Lauren are cashing in on Metaverse to promote their products and reach new global markets. 

These brands are now selling digital fashion to users in the digital world and using NFTs as a certificate of ownership. It is one of the most viable ways to increase brand awareness and your return on investments. Now, we are sure these facts have made you interested in investing in a metaverse ecosystem for your retail business. 

This blog will help you understand everything related to metaverse platform development for fashion and retail business while highlighting the various technologies you can invest in to leverage this platform and reshape the fashion industry’s future. 

Now, if you are new to the world of metaverse, our exclusive blog on ” Metaverse: The New Web is Here” will help you understand every aspect in detail. 

But before diving into the terminologies and nitty-gritty of Metaverse and retail, let us first look at various findings and facts related to Metaverse in fashion and the multiple possibilities major brands are exploring under this virtual ecosystem. 

• According to PRNewswire, the market share of Metaverse in fashion is expected to witness an increase of $6.61 billion from 2021 to 2026, thereby registering a CAGR of 36.47%
• The market is further expected to witness a YoY growth rate of 30.5% by the end of 2022
• The primary factor driving this growth is the increasing number of big brands entering this market
• The growth is further supported by the increasing number of GenZs that spend more than 8 hours per day on their smartphones
• The significant metaverse investment by the fashion industry is subjected to the $176 billion digital gaming world
• As per Balenciaga’s clients, digital fashion will be changing the meaning of fashion shortly
• AR and AI have opened up new opportunities for people to leverage virtual fashion
• Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are people’s most common currency to buy products in the digital world

Now that you understand how powerful brands are revolutionizing the digital domain and changing the face of fashion, one NFT at a time, it is the right time to invest in your metaverse platform for fashion business that can help you put your brand on the trajectory and compete with the highest fashion extravagant brands. 

Still not convinced? Let us share some use cases that can offer insight into how influential brands monetize this lucrative Metaverse in the fashion retail market. In addition, we will also help you understand how you can enter the metaverse space with your retail business. 

Metaverse in Fashion Retail: Understanding the Methods and Use Cases

The metaverse platform for fashion will be redefining how we interact, work and shop online. Since the decentralized ownership, Web3 will expand its reach in the coming years, and the use of NFTs and social gaming will support the brand’s digital evolution. Here are a few methods for fashion and retail businesses to enter the metaverse reality. 

1. Entering via event activations through video games

One of the most impactful methods for businesses to make a name in metaverse fashion is entering the ecosystem with the help of event activations in video games. Fashion brands can exhibit their latest collection to the world by creating digital events or fashion shows inside a video game world. 

For instance, in 2021, Gucci, in partnership with Roblox, invited multiple visitors to take a unique trip to the virtual Gucci Gardens. This allowed the brand to redefine its marketing campaigns while making way for new technology to change the entire demographic of a fashion show. This was one instance of Metaverse and fashion collaborating to give the audience something unique yet fulfilling. 

Balenciaga, the epitome of fashion royalty, also collaborated with Fortnite and created gaming avatars that users could buy for their virtual existences across the digital world. Other brands like Dolce & Gabbana, Etro, and Elie Saab also entered into a metaverse platform for fashion and created an existence for themselves in the world of Web3. 

2. Employ the use of NFTs

Building momentum in the Metaverse in the fashion industry is a tough nut to crack. Using NFTs can allow your fashion brand to offer digital versions of clothes to multiple users . 

Being a fashion house, you can launch your collection with NFTs and offer exclusive opportunities to your target base. For instance, Dolce and Gabbana recently collaborated with UNXD and created the first-ever luxury collection sold to users with NFTs. The purchase of NFTs offered the user the collectible item in digital and physical avatars. In addition, those NFTs also provided them access to all the future shows of the brand that will take place in the virtual Metaverse. 

3. Explore cryptocurrency payment options

Diving into the world of the Metaverse is not an easy task. Thus, it is recommended to try all the pathways and give your business that much-needed edge. For instance, you can accept cryptocurrency as a payment for your products. This will further help reassure the customers of your products’ authenticity while, at the same time, it can help you prevent the counterfeiting of products. 

Various brands like Prada, Louis Vuitton, Hublot, Gucci, Balenciaga, and Cartier have started accepting cryptocurrency as an alternate payment method. They have attracted millions of customers that prefer to spend their digital money over luxury goods. 

[Bonus Read: Metaverse use cases and benefits]

Now that you clearly understand how to dive into the metaverse space for your fashion businesses and the various use cases of the same, let us move ahead with the immediate context of our blog – metaverse platform development for the fashion business. 

How to Develop a Metaverse Platform for Fashion Business?

There are several steps to consider before developing a metaverse platform for the fashion business. For instance, choosing the right technologies and features to be integrated into your platform should be your top priority. 

Here are the necessary steps to create a robust platform for Metaverse in the fashion business in UAE.

1. Analyze your business idea for diving into Metaverse in fashion retail

Analyzing your business idea for diving into the Metaverse in fashion retail should be your topmost priority. It can help you understand your target audience better while ensuring their desires and needs are met seamlessly. 

For instance, if you wish to create new avatars of your new fashion line to be displayed within a video game, you should know how all the fundamentals must be carried out. To achieve immediate success for your fashion business in the metaverse universe, your idea needs to be highly creative and unique. 

2. Conduct thorough market research

In order to build a metaverse platform for the fashion business, it is necessary to carry out thorough market research. Diving into the metaverse space is not for the faint of heart. It would be best to conduct thorough market research to understand your competitors better. In addition, understanding the latest market trends and terminologies will help put your business at the forefront of this virtual technology. 

All the metaverse initiatives the major fashion brands take must be thoroughly analyzed to build a creative plan for your business’s success. After analyzing the data, all you have to do is create an effective action plan or a business roadmap containing all the necessary details and documentation for implementing your metaverse platform. 

3. Choose a dedicated metaverse development company

Choosing a dedicated metaverse development company is a tricky task. You need an organization that can realize your vision and creates a metaverse platform for your fashion business per your custom requirements. Appinventiv, with its dedicated team, can help you put things into perspective while using the latest technologies and features to get maximum investment returns. 

A devoted team of project managers, designers, developers, quality analysts, and more can help you create a robust platform for Metaverse in fashion retail.

4. Complete the UI/UX design process

The next phase of developing a metaverse platform for fashion businesses is finalizing the UI/UX design. Understanding that a seamless UI/UX design can increase user engagement while retaining users for a more extended time is necessary. You can start by creating a rough prototype of the architecture of the metaverse platform and testing it in multiple sprints to develop a seamless end product. 

5. Start with the platform’s coding process

After finalizing the UI/UX design, the developers now have to start with the coding process. Depending on the overall complexity of the platform, the coding process can take up to 3 to 9 months. Furthermore, integrating various features with the help of technologies can directly impact the time frame for completing the coding process. 

Here are the technologies required for metaverse platform development for fashion business:

6. Quality assurance

Testing of the software is essential to ensure more significant ROIs. In addition to providing the software is bug-free and runs smoothly, various other testing procedures are carried out to ensure its proper functioning. After the coding process is complete, the software is handed over to the quality assurance specialists, who test it for a seamless performance. 

7. Deploy the metaverse in fashion retail platform in app stores

After the team has successfully built a metaverse platform for fashion business, it  is launched according to the underlying platform on Google Play Store, App Store, or Amazon Store. The time frame and costs required to launch your end product further depends on the platform it’s based on. 

[Also Read: Android vs iOS: Which Platform is Better for Mobile Startups?]

Now that you have understood every aspect of launching your fashion brands in the Metaverse, it is time to understand the various benefits of entering this digital ecosystem. 

Benefits of Metaverse in the Fashion Retail Ecosystem

Do you know brands like Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, etc., have been able to witness an increase in their earnings by more than $50 million ever since they invested in the world of Metaverse and offer services in virtual reality? Here are a few benefits you can witness if you wish to invest in Metaverse. 

1. Eliminates the overstock issue

Offering your apparel and products to customers in the digital ecosystem can help you deal with the problems related to overstock and overproduction . You can put up the products with a discount code in your metaverse platform and allow customers to buy those products with the help of cryptocurrency. 

2. Increased return on investment

Selling digital goods over a digital space allows you to invest less money in dealing with the technicalities of a physical store, thereby increasing your overall return on investment. You can use your old designs in the virtual samples and eliminate the problem of handling additional inventory at an additional cost. 

 3. Constant monetization

Allowing the users to purchase products that NFTs support ensures you get the required royalty fees. You will be able to get a share of the money used by the customer to buy the product, thereby increasing your overall revenue. 

4. Reduced carbon footprint

Physical apparel stores are the ultimate source of increasing the carbon footprint of the fashion brand. Putting your apparel in the digital world of Metaverse can help you reduce your environmental footprint by eliminating the physical samples available. 

[Also Read: How can your business enter the Metaverse?]

Now that you have a clear idea of how beneficial it is to create a Metaverse platform for the fashion business, it is time to understand the costs of driving your fashion business in the Metaverse. 

Cost to develop metaverse platform for fashion business

The cost to make a metaverse platform for fashion businesses varies between $40,000 to $200,000, depending on several factors. For instance, the location of the app development organization will directly impact your overall budget, considering the different hourly rates of development in different regions. In addition to the metaverse platform features for fashion business, various other factors affect the cost of creating a metaverse platform for fashion companies:

Now that you have understood the cost of creating the metaverse fashion business, let us now help you determine how Appinventiv can assist you in becoming a renowned fashion brand in the metaverse universe. 

How can Appinventiv Help you Begin your Metaverse Journey?

Our team of experts can enable brands and fashion retailers to establish their presence in the Metaverse world by using various technologies and tools like AI, AR, VR, 3D Modelling, etc. Under our creative direction and agile app development approach, you can get your metaverse in fashion retail platform created. From changing your perception to reality, our tech experts can accelerate your transformation parallel to the fashion industry. 

Get in touch with our team of metaverse application developers to get an effective solution today!

FAQs

Q. What is the Metaverse in fashion?

A. Metaverse in fashion is simply an opportunity to put your fashion brand on the radar. The technology will enable users to shop online in virtual reality, try products from an online store in virtual reality, and buy goods and services using cryptocurrencies and NFTs. It will further help eliminate the various challenges associated with a physical apparel store while reducing the brand’s carbon footprint.

Q. How can a fashion business enter Metaverse?

A. A fashion business can enter the Metaverse with the help of a dedicated metaverse development organization that can further create a metaverse platform custom to their business while offering a seamless shopping experience to the users in the virtual reality world and Web3.

Q. Is the Metaverse the future of fashion?

A. Yes, creating a fashion business in the Metaverse will redefine how customers perceive fashion. The users can feel, touch, and try clothes in virtual reality while buying stuff with the help of digital currency. They can further purchase digital items with a unique NFT and immerse themselves in the world of creativity like never before. 

THE AUTHOR

Sudeep Srivastava

Co-Founder and Director