Future of Chambers
As I interview guests on Chamber Chat Podcast, I always ask the same question at the end of each episode. That question is “how do you see the future of chambers of commerce and their purpose going forward?”. I get a lot of great answers to this question as it forces us to take a glimpse into the future. Of course nobody really knows what the future holds, but it is a good idea as hall of fame hockey player, Wayne Gretzky says to skate to where the puck is going.
In an effort to gain a better understanding of where the future is going, I believe it is a good idea to look at the habits, trends, and even addictions of the next generations. One of the biggest trends or addictions that I notice is the widespread adoption of immersive role playing “games”. I put games in quotation marks because as it may appear to be a game to older generations, the ones who are immersed in these platforms are living another life within that ecosystem.
Traditional Video Games vs. Metaverse Games
When I was growing up, my friends and I would get together to play Nintendo games. We would play games like Super Mario Bros., Tecmo Super Bowl, and later Street Fighter II. Each new gaming system would bring along greater capacity for more realistic graphics. To play these games, we would insert a game cartridge into the gaming system. We would play until the game was over, we were out of lifes, or until an upset sibling turned the system off. The games of today are very different. Today, these games are connected through the internet to other gaming devices and many of these games can be played on a variety of platforms (TV screen, PC, smartphone, etc.).
Another differentiating factor is that these games don’t necessarily end. A player has their avatar or character in a virtual world where they “live”. These avatars have homes, cars, clothes, among other possessions that they can collect, purchase, or trade throughout their virtual experience. Did you notice that I said purchase? Yes, these avatars are purchasing goods and services within the virtual world. They are doing commerce.
Metaverse Now
When we hear or talk about the Metaverse, it is really an abstract concept of virtual worlds. We tend to think about how this might look in the future while ignoring that this is happening NOW! The next generations are already plugged into the Metaverse and doing commerce there.
What grabbed my attention around this topic is the annual sales from the top three virtual or Metaverse platforms in comparison to one of the top real goods online retailers. The combined annual sales of Roblox ($2.206B), Fortnite ($5.8B), and Minecraft ($380M) is $8.386B while Etsy, one of the top online retailers for real goods, has a total annual sales of $2.414B. These three Metaverse games are out performing Etsy by 4X! Is that worth taking note of?
Some of the world’s biggest companies and brands are starting to create digital products specifically for the Metaverse. Nike has even launched virtual shoes. Many of these brands are tying their digital products to an NFT which is also connected to a physical product.
Doing Digital Commerce
So, again, as we look to the future, if we look at those people who will be doing business and commerce in the future, what can we learn? We learn that they are already comfortable with conducting business through a screen, a headset, and even an avatar. We learn that their world is much smaller than the world a traditional business person might be used to. When we are not limited by geography a whole new world of possibilities opens up.
As a chamber leader, I would suggest you spend some time with your children or grandchildren to learn more about what their virtual worlds look like. Find out what they enjoy about their virtual experiences. I believe that soon enough, we will no longer call these virtual worlds or virtual experiences, they will just be integrated into our everyday lives.
Consider Community Matters, Inc. for your next chamber publication.
It may be worth your time to bring on an intern who can help to make the connection between traditional business and virtual commerce. Once your chamber members see that the puck is going in this direction, they will need to lean on their chamber to get up to speed quickly. Now is the time for you to learn so you can help your member businesses pivot as the ecosystem matures. There is space for every chamber of commerce in the Metaverse world. There will also be a huge upside for those who partake in the first mover advantage.
Please join our email list to receive new blog posts are they are released. You will stay in the loop with any announcements related to the podcast or the Chamber world in general.
Be sure you are subscribed to Chamber Chat Podcast in your favorite podcast app. Subscribers are the first to get episodes as new ones come out each week.
