E-commerce major Flipkart has launched its metaverse-based virtual shopping experience dubbed ‘Flipverse’. The Flipverse will allow users to discover and shop for products in a metaverse environment. The e-commerce company has partnered with eDAO to develop the virtual shopping experience, along with Meta and Ethereum Layer-2 scaling startup Polygon. Flipverse will be available on Flipkart’s newly launched platform, FireDrops, which can be accessed from the e-commerce platform’s app. The development also comes six months after Flipkart launched Flipkart Labs, which was an initiative to test out Web3 technology and its use cases for e-commerce.
Flipverse will offer gamified, interactive and immersive shopping experiences for consumers in a digital world by giving them access to their favourite brands, SuperCoins and digital collectibles. The initiative aims to “reverse” the shopping narrative, bringing consumers closer to their favourite brands in a two-way interactive environment.
The platform will be in an early adoption phase and will only be available to Android users for a week, the e-commerce company said in a press release shared with Gadgets 360. The first phase will involve 15 brands including apparel brand Puma, cosmetics and personal care brand Nivea, and homegrown electronics brand Noise.
Upon entering the metaverse, the user receives access to a digital twin, which is a third-person avatar the likes of which are popular in games such as Grand Theft Auto and Fortnite. The user can move their digital twin within the metaverse space and can interact with brand stores designed within the metaverse. Once at the store, users can tap on the table to see the products. Once a user finalises a product, they can click on the product link to redirect to Flipkart to buy it.
“The launch of Flipverse will continue to have an impact on innovative industries like e-commerce and enhance the customer experience while delivering a gamified and immersive shopping experience, especially in light of the adoption of the metaverse and Web3 platforms by multiple brands in India,” said Naren Ravula, VP and head, Product Strategy and Deployment, Flipkart Labs.
“While we have only just begun to scratch the surface of what’s possible in the metaverse, we see e-commerce as one of the killer use cases. Combining top brands with Flipkart’s e-commerce expertise in a virtual environment stands to revolutionise online retail as we know it. Flipverse will be a vibrant, visible expression of the metaverse, and I’m proud that this activation is taking place on Polygon,” added Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon.
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