Last week, UAE retail giant Majid Al Futtaim announced it will launch the ‘Mall of the Metaverse’, which will be a virtual shopping mall.
The mall will be located, according to Majid Al Futtaim, in the Decentraland universe, at coordinates 95,21.
MAF had made the announcement on the sidelines of the World Government Summit in Dubai, which took place from February 13 to 15.
What is Decentraland, and what would a virtual mall look like?
LandVault, which is a metaverse solutions builder, which operates on platforms like Decentraland.
LandVault was launched in 2018 under the name Admix, and was initially focussed on building technology to insert product placements within games and virtual worlds.
Admix then raised $37 million from venture capitalists across the world, and became one of the largest in-play ad marketplace, working with several brands and top game publishers like Gameloft and Supersonic. It later rebranded as LandVault.
However, LandVault now allows non-gaming apps to exist on its platform as well.
For example, in March last year, Decentraland hosted a fashion week, where 60 brands including Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce & Gabbana, Ellie Saab and L’Oreal participated.
The experience was based in Decentraland’s Vegas district, and included a row of shops where brands could be customised, apart from a red carpet, a stage for live events and Q&A, and phygital (physical and digital) sales capabilities.
The event attracted 300,000 attendees over three days of the festival, and generated $5 million in rental and creative work.
LandVault’s website says that this was the largest Metaverse event to ever take place.
Some of the company’s clients include Paypal, Uber, Amazon, Google, Mastercard and Mcdonalds among others.
In statement to ME Retail News, LandVault said that “the organisation builds metaverse solutions and experiences for their clients. With more than 120 builders and 100 million square feet of metaverse real estate developed, LandVault is the leading solution for brands, IPs and celebrities who want to enter the metaverse, across platforms like Sandbox and Decentraland.”
The company’s CEO Sam Huber is himself a blockchain investor since 2013. He has personally invested in more than 20 companies, and various virtual land projects since 2017.
LandVault also runs Decentraland, apart from other metaverse gaming platforms such as The Sandbox, Otherside, and NFT World among others.
ME Retail News caught up with Mr Huber, the CEO of LandVault to know more about shopping in the Metaverse.
“Decentraland (DCL) is a decentralised metaverse (on the blockchain) that enables creators to build 3D worlds. Creators can buy land, develop the land and monetise it,” said Mr Huber.
He explained that Decentraland works by ‘renting’ space to creators, who can also ‘buy’ the plot of ‘land.’
These plots of land are measured in ‘parcels’, and their prices on the online platform also fluctuate daily depending on how popular that particular land is. At the time of writing this article, one piece of land on Decentraland called Parcel 112,40 cost $1,807.14.
How can brands and customers access malls and other stores on Decentraland?
Mr Huber says that “The mall is in DCL [Decentraland] so customers will need to access the platform via the app or the web, which is a simple browser link, and search for the mall.”
“To access the Decentraland metaverse, you will create a virtual character (Avatar), and to navigate, you can use a keyboard and mouse to move around and interact with users and the environment.”
“You will either connect to a crypto wallet, or you can enter as a guest, you can then shop, attend events, activities and engage with others within the space.”
LandVault itself is not involved in the construction of the mall that Majid Al Futtaim intends to build.
However, MAF has said that its mall will feature a virtual Carrefour, That Concept Store, Ghawali, and Samsung stores, as well as a VOX cinema space.
It added that more brands are expected to enter the virtual reality metaverse space in the near future.
Khalifa Bin Braik, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Asset Management, had said recently that, “for us at Majid Al Futtaim, it is key to keep an eye on user and shopper behaviours and how they evolve overtime. We want to find new ways of creating memorable moments every day – and we’re ready to deliver that even on a network of platforms as huge as the metaverse.
“Our Mall of the Metaverse will be yet another one of our leading retail and entertainment destinations — and surely a huge attraction for customers who crave digital experiences from their most loved brands”.
Will we be able to buy products at this mall?
“Yes”, said Mr Huber, explaining that the point of a digital mall is to give access to consumers to experiences that cannot be produced at a physical store.
“The idea is to provide experiences that you cannot find on any other platforms, such as virtual try-ons,” he added.
Explaining that virtual reality is an important aspect of using the Metaverse, Mr Huber explained that, “while it is not necessary to use virtual reality to access the metaverse, it is the most immersive way to consume it.”
“Specifically, for use cases like luxury shopping, try-ons, digital tourism or real estate, the Metaverse offers unparalleled customer experience which has been proven to increase engagement and conversion,” Mr Huber said.
Commenting on the demand for digital experiences in the UAE, Mr Huber said that “The UAE is the epicenter of innovation when it comes to the metaverse. At the moment, it is mainly a vision and direction from the government. Use cases need to be built for consumers, and the mall is a step in the direction.”
