Taobao, one of China’s biggest e-retailers owned by Alibaba, is conducting the final tests of its first domestic Metaverse live stream space which is set to debut ahead of the Lunar New Year on 22 January. If everything goes to plan, the Metaverse market space is expected to be put to use during the forthcoming New Year shopping extravaganza.
According to released footage, consumers can place orders in the live streaming channel in the virtual world through the giant advertisement screens. Features such as 360-degree product browsing and virtual try-ons will be provided to wow consumers with a completely new experience, which combines both virtual shopping and real-life parcel collecting services.
On top of that, an immersive online Chinese New Year festival scenario is under active construction to fully leverage customers’ shopping experiences. Chinese netizens expressed their excitement of this new upcoming Metaverse shopping world on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website.
This is not the first time that Taobao has dipped its toes in the Metaverse world. The e-retailer already utilised the primary technologies in last year’s 618 and Double 11 shopping festivals to resonate with digitally savvy Chinese consumers.
Aside from Taobao, e-commerce giant Tmall also tapped into the Metaverse to gain traction by introducing a 3D snow party for consumers to embrace the latest winter fashion trends from global luxury brands last December.
Compared to traditional 2D images and videos, the comprehensive features such as 3D product previews, AR and VR try-on, and real-time interaction in the Metaverse largely enrich the shopping experience with a futuristic twist.
When the Metaverse first started picking up steam in 2021, brands were just testing the waters but now the new technology is being fully embraced by market players. For example, Tmall partnered with 27 luxury brands to release more than 60 different NFT products over the last year with 4,000 items sold online. Last September, a Metaverse fashion week called “Tmall Luxurymeta Week” also rolled out on the platform to stay on course with the trend.
With China’s first Metaverse live stream space expected to unveil soon, it’s exciting to see a new era of online shopping coming. From e-commerce conglomerates to the luxury industry, experimenting with the Metaverse market seems like an inevitable move for brands from now on, with significant opportunities to be discovered which is aimed at building a new online community for their audiences.
