What the Metaverse Could Mean for Retail

My wife and I are enthusiastic backpackers.  We buy gear that is ultralight and designed to take the abuse of rugged wilderness environments.  For many years we have frequented the outdoor equipment store REI to purchase our clothing, gear and supplies.  Recently, however, REI has stopped stocking their stores with a full range of products.  They only seem to stock a small selection of sizes and colors, and refer you to their website for all other options.  

As an example, on a recent trip to REI, I had a shopping list of four items. Each time I asked a customer service person about one of the products on my list, I was given the same answer, "Visit our website... we don't carry it in our stores."  

On the way home I felt disappointment. The trip seemed both a waste of time and fuel.  Is the disappointment I felt shared by tens of thousands of other customers?  If so, will this shared disappointment lead to the demise, or the transformation of physical stores?  

The Metaverse and Mixing Realities Inside Our Minds

In Ernest Cline's 2011 book, Ready Player One, the protagonist, Wade Watts, distracts himself from his tragic, apocalyptic surroundings by connecting to the Metaverse - to a place called the Oasis. An old laptop, haptic clothing, 3D headsets and a personalized Avatar all help him escape into an alternative digital reality. People in the Oasis can become someone new, different and better.  In the Oasis, one can dress up, change voices, change genders, create new personas and drive nice cars.  It is a sensory explosion of sounds, physical touch, avatars and 3D immersive experiences.

One of the many interesting concepts to come out of this book is that characters go into deep financial debt in the physical world to enhance their digital lives.  Metaphorically speaking, they starve in the physical world in order to feast in the digital.  They re-prioritize their financial investments from the earth to the digital Aether to improve their status and experiences there.