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The world is making a shift towards digital and so are markets. Online markets are platforms where buyers and sellers can easily interact from all over the world (Dimoka, Hong & Pavlou, 2012). These markets have lower barriers than physical markets and allow customers to buy products or services at any time online while also having a much broader product selection. You can still go to the Nike Store to buy a pair of sneakers, but the chances are bigger for you to find them online.

Nonetheless, in 2022 it is still not easy to buy everything online and not return it. The biggest challenge for online markets is physical experience goods, which cannot be evaluated by customers before purchasing it. One reason for this is the difficulty in evaluating product, while another reason is evaluating the performance of the product (Urbany, Dickson & Wilkie, 1989). Customers are having hard times to distinguish between good and bad, because of some sellers’ inability and lack to provide buyers with proper product descriptions.

However, this problem has given others the opportunity to fill this gap in very creative ways. Individuals are creating businesses through YouTube channels by reviewing products, giving feedback and additional descriptions that customers are looking for, but are unable find the on the retailers’ websites or apps.

The biggest examples can be given from the fashion industry. Within this industry there are sellers, such as luxury brands like Bottega Veneta and Cartier that provide their customers with the right product description, such as how many card can fit in a card holder or images of how a certain necklace looks like on a model. The products are offered on several platforms such as the brand’s own website, but also on websites or apps such Farfetch and MyTheresa. Not all platforms provide customers with the right or necessary information package, while individuals on YouTube are making content videos to show how a certain card holder looks like, how many cards it can actually hold, what the perceived quality is, and in which bags (small, medium, large) it will fit.

It is interesting to see how the concept of online markets can have its benefits and limitations. On the one hand, concepts as product uncertainty and seller uncertainty arise, while on the other hand new concepts, content and jobs are created from these uncertainties. The future will tell if YouTube review channels are there to stay or will they be outperformed by new technologies that diminish these uncertainties?

References:

Dimoka, A., Hong, Y., & Pavlou, P. (2012). On Product Uncertainty in Online Markets: Theory and Evidence. MIS Quarterly, 36(2), 395.

Urbany, J., Dickson, P., & Wilkie, W. (1989). Buyer Uncertainty and Information Search. Journal Of Consumer Research, 16(2), 208.

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Imagine a three-dimensional virtual world, which includes everything of our physical world, including human-beings (Sparkes, 2021). The metaverse is a virtual world with interactions on both social and economic aspects which uses certain technologies, such as blockchain, XR, VR, AR, and MR to make these interactions possible (Momtaz, 2022).

Some people expect the metaverse to replace the physical world in most aspects, while other see it as a game where you can form your own avatar and buy properties, land, goods and much more.

However, the metaverse is in some aspects outperforming the physical world. One of the most important aspects is the social aspect. The virtual world has a lot of opportunities that are not directly visible to individuals. One of these opportunities is the expansion of job offerings in the virtual world, whereby a shift towards remote working is expected internationally (Rospigliosi, 20222). A work visa, necessary documents or relocation costs are only examples of barriers that would diminish. For example, an individual in Peru looking for a job with a higher wage can work remotely for a firm in the U.S. without facing the barriers of entering the U.S. labor market. Therefore, the metaverse will diminish high entry barriers and make it possible for individuals living in countries with low-wage job offerings to get remote jobs from firms in countries with high-wages. This would be an opportunity to decrease discrimination and enhance diversity.

Furthermore, in comparison to the real world, the metaverse could be a pioneer in social sustainability (Momtaz, 2021). In the virtual world individuals are free to choose their gender, if any, race, sexual orientation, physical appearance and much more.

However, the metaverse comes with its challenges and limitations that need to be taken seriously if the virtual world is going to replace a lot of the physical world. One of most important challenges is privacy. The virtual world will contain lots of data and it is crucial and challenging to protect the privacy of everyone entering this world. Besides this, ethics and morals could be another challenge of the metaverse.

Next to the challenges, the biggest limitation of the metaverse is that the virtual world is still subject to censorship, and laws and regulations (Momtaz, 2022). Therefore, just like NFTs the metaverse could expect to face more difficulties in some countries than others.

References:

Momtaz, P.P. (2022). Some Very Simple Economics of Web3 and the Metaverse. Fintech.

Rospigliosi, P.A. (2022). Metaverse or Simulacra? Roblox, Minecraft, Meta and the Turn to Virtual Reality for Education, Socialisation, and Work. Interact. Learn. Environ.

Sparkes, M. (2021). What is a Metaverse. New Scientist, (251)3358, p.18.