Metaverse impact: sales forcast over $191bn in eCommerce

The convergence of emerging digital trends such as advancements of virtual worlds and spatial media, adoption of blockchain and remote productivity, and democratisation of eCommerce has led to the conception of minimum viable Metaverse concept.

Even though many questions remain unanswered, it is already clear today that the potential is enormous – as shown in Chapter 5 of Statista's Digital Economy Compass 2022. Gaming is already the strongest revenue-generating market in the digital media sector after TV. By 2027, Statista’s experts even expect it to grow further and become the strongest market at $499 billion. Digital video will move into second place ($477 billion) and TV will fall into third place ($386 billion). Thus, it appears that the development of the gaming market is already shaping a new digital economy.

One of the most interesting media segments where new technologies are being developed and virtual experiences are being created from Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality (AR & VR) is the gaming industry. Until now, this has often been considered a niche market.

Forecasts, however, estimate that the gaming market will be the media segment with the highest revenues in the coming years, overtaking television and digital video. Through AR & VR, the immersive simulation of a world succeeds, where a multitude of users can enter simultaneously in the first-person perspective and still share a strong sense of a common community. Thus, the potential of creating an immense social hub is exceptional.

Precisely because of this, major technology companies are betting on the Metaverse. Meta and Apple, for example, have invested significantly in various supply chain elements of the Metaverse ecosystem to gain long-term advantage. Investments to date total $36 billion. With 15 million Oculus VR headsets sold since 2020, Meta is the leading company in VR.

Meta is pushing VR experiences, including games or virtual worlds like its flagship Metaverse app Horizon Worlds. The Metaverse holds immense potential for the future, with eCommerce and digital assets market expected to show the highest growth rates. Analysts forecast sales of over $191 Billion in eCommerce by 2030.

Current influencing factors at the global level, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, inflation and supply chain shocks, point to a global recession and have led to a slowdown in performance for many major players. The projected path back to frictionless trade profitability is through the Metaverse. The Metaverse is expected to have tremendous potential for the entire digital market in the future, with eCommerce and the digital asset market expected to show the greatest growth.

Therefore, it can be stated: The Metaverse will inevitably change the way people interact in the physical and digital worlds. A seismic shift towards digital worlds seems possible and creates new potential for the digital economy – something which is sure to attract companies’ attention. 

The Digital Economy Compass is published annually. It covers the most relevant data of the digital economy and its development potential. Both external and an extensive body of proprietary data are incorporated into the report. Statista’s own research and market analysis is accessible on a larger scale outside of the Digital Economy Compass and is bundled into a targeted product family. It will be available free of charge from January 2023 at statista.com.