As the concept of the metaverse has entered the mainstream, everyone from comedians to Wall Street analysts have taken to framing the much-hyped concept as a vague business meme that doesn’t stand a chance at success. Now, a survey from McKinsey refutes some of the skepticism directed at the metaverse.
It found that Gen Z, millennials, and Gen X consumers expect to spend between four and five hours a day in the metaverse in the next five years. Comparatively, a recent Nielsen study found that consumers spend roughly five hours a day watching TV across various platforms.
The McKinsey study surveyed over 1,000 consumers aged 13 to 70 to hone in on the expectations and realities of the transition from laptops and smartphones to wearable devices for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
The race to mainstream immersive computing is still in its early stages
The most well known metaverse device is the Meta Quest 2 VR headset. It’s primarily used for gaming. That may change soon. Immersive shopping, followed by telehealth appointments, education, travel, and socializing in VR or using AR will be the most interesting metaverse activities for consumers in the next five years, according the study.
One reason the broad adoption supported by these dynamics is still a few years off is because of the limited options when it comes to easy-to-use immersive devices. There may be more choices for consumers and more competition for Meta soon. TikTok parent company Bytedance is rumored to be readying a launch of its Pico standalone VR headset in the coming months.