Article

How can the commercial real estate sector use the metaverse?

July 25, 2022 9 Minute Read

The metaverse enables us to enjoy experiences and presence across virtual, mixed and augmented realities. It can be used as a platform for working, playing games, socialising, learning and shopping, with digital and increasingly immersive connectivity at the heart of every interaction.

There are several wide-ranging use cases emerging of how commercial real estate can engage with the metaverse through the building lifecycle. These can include:

Strategic planning; scenario modelling and the design of spaces and operations, before committing capital to physical outcomes
Transactional; 3D tours of properties or land, to support purchasing, selling, or renting activities
Acquiring virtual land plots, to subsequently design and build digital assets whether it is a digital twin of your office, hotel, golf course, shopping centre and more
Immersing your Building Information Modelling (BIM) project for creating and managing information on a construction project, through its whole life cycle
Operating and maintaining physical and virtual property assets, and empowering onsite teams with augmented solutions, remote support and data insights; creating opportunities for a range of VR / AR focused products and services
Opportunities to access new consumer contacts and create new channels of footfall
Providing wider business services such as marketing, financial products, and client care

Why the commercial real estate sector should pay attention

Looking specifically at different real estate asset classes, there are a multitude of potential uses for the metaverse.

A virtual form of the office can be an addition to hybrid ways of working
Enables an immersive way to work through a collection of VR experiences
Access colleagues / networks anywhere in the world and collaborate in a more engaging environment
Working in the metaverse could be more valuable and productive than a call
Offers a creative and more inclusive platform for virtual training and onboarding of distributed employees and recruitment targets
Provides new opportunities for brand promotion and product placement

Design and build your virtual shopping experiences, to sell virtually exclusive products and services. Alternatively, shop in virtual retail destinations and have items delivered to your home in the physical world. Both experiences are a new channel to creating footfall as well as optimising brand positioning
Undertake locational analysis and position yourself in an emerging digital retail cluster, to build presence and brand
Consumers can interact with brands without the barriers of the physical world. Visit virtual stores anywhere and at anytime to purchase real or NFT focused products

Design and build leisure venues and supporting facilities, that enable the user to have greater accessibility to hobbies, events and new experiences
Players can invite their social media friends, interact with other players inside the metaverse, and collaborate to enjoy games together
Immersive virtual travel allows the digital and physical realms to merge, enabling users to explore and interact with the destinations and resorts they’ve always dreamed of visiting, or through lack of mobility might never be able to visit in person
A new form of immersive physical fitness where all aspects of a gym environment – music, visuals, wearables, and instructors come together on one E-sport. Engage participants in invigorating fitness experiences, anywhere in the world or universe
Artists can perform anywhere as users can attend cinemas, concerts and theatre from the comfort of their homes. Have your favourite Shakespeare play unfold around you, meet artists in VIP digital lounges and get access to unique digital merchandise

Deliver immersive education and training, through a new way of learning
Educators have control over school student interactions simply by changing permissions in the virtual space; creating a safe and sole place for learning
Engineers and designers can use the metaverse to interface with clients, display models remotely, and test
Potential damage to expensive equipment is limited through immersive simulations
Test masterplans and infrastructure to evaluate viability and operational efficiency

Use digital twin technology in virtual hospitals, to practice complex surgeries and explore new innovations
Where lab space may be limited in the physical world or when assets become difficult to access / maintain / upgrade, virtual labs allow new ecosystems to be created, providing greater access to global skills and talent
Access your GP through a virtual surgery that could provide a more efficient diagnosis via digital twins and augmented data and diagnostic tools
Offer remote access to specialist engineers to help via AR solutions to maintain and operate lab systems and equipment, in support of onsite generalists

Prior to making a home purchase in the physical world, explore properties and vicinities in the metaverse, and see what your investment could afford you
Approach your virtual bank and see what mortgage and other financial products you can access, without having to physically visit a lender
Access customer support centres and help desks to engage with digital customer agents

Prior to making a hotel reservation in the physical world, make a visit in the metaverse to see where you will be staying and the facilities / activities available
Expand the hotel brand experiences, with unique digital services (i.e. virtual events and casinos) and amenities to support more established physical environments

Long term metaverse adoption and increasing inter-operability of metaverse platforms will drive increased demand for data processing / storage solutions
Increased transaction volumes in metaverse environments using cryptocurrencies will also trigger increased demand for data centre capacity
Metaverse enabled engineering solutions will facilitate more optimised management of infrastructure, energy consumption and environmental controls
Virtual modelling of data centre operations will enable a reduction in running costs through increased efficiencies

These examples demonstrate the multitude of opportunities of how commercial real estate can engage and interact with the metaverse. Whether you are acquiring, building or operating virtual assets, using virtual spaces for leisure or learning purposes, or simply exploring new ways of collaborating, the opportunities presented to real estate leaders are extensive.