The digital world, in essence, has facilitated system-environment interaction with better ex-periences and outcomes. Users are thereby empowered with better in-terfaces and smarter objects, using which they engage with the world around them (Bornet et al., 2021; Pillai et al., 2020; Wirtz et al., 2018). In fact, ’interactivity’ could be considered as the basis of all revenue-generation exercises and relationships

The primary purpose of a platform is to bring together groups of users. Notably, the higher the interaction among the network users, the higher the network’s value. Hence, a platform’s strength lies in its ability to both retain and attract users

The customer experience has been conceptualized as a holistic sen-sory feeling resulting from the interaction of customers with all possible touchpoints with the firm (Gentile et al., 2007; Lemon & Verhoef, 2016), and well-designed service system enhances the customer experience (Berry et al., 2006). The literature suggests that firms need to cultivate an ecosystem perspective for creating and delivering high-quality ex-periences (Patrício et al., 2011). Berry et al. (2006) provided a service system design framework and advanced that different dimensions are needed to build positive experiences

Experience and luxury brands are among the first retailing businesses to develop a revenue strategy for the metaverse, building on what music artists have done since 2020. They are partnering with gaming platforms and 3D companies to create metaverse ecosystems or to integrate their brands and products into other

The digital natives of Generation Z and younger millennials show most interest in the metaverse. Commercial pathfinders in the metaverse will be brands that want to affirm a reputation for early-mover digital media innovation. As far more young men than women play video games, the metaverse is heavily skewed towards young males, slowing broader acceptance. Evidence from e-sports suggests influencer marketing will be important in drawing female and older consumers into virtual environments.

Those opportunities will lie in all three layers of the metaverse stack: the infrastructure (blockchains, 3D-rendering engines and telecoms networks); the interface (headsets, smart glasses, bodysuits and m-world platforms and payments systems); and, most of all, the economic interactions (the experiences and the products and services offered to industrial, commercial and retail customers).

The integration of Web 3.0's asset creation capabilities with the ability to sell those assets is alluring to consumer brands, creating a new and potentially vast market for their branded digital products.

There are already some 800 million mobile AR users, according to ARtillery Intelligence, a San Francisco-based metaverse research firm.

The metaverse's promoters say extended reality (XR) technologies, which include AR, VR and hybrid reality (HR), will take it far beyond that, entwining social, consumer and business experiences.

Direct-to-avatar (D2A) will become a mainstream retail channel.

This year, global retail e-commerce sales will likely top USD5tn for the first time, with China accounting for one-half and the United States for one-fifth

But a new era has arrived, requiring brands to rethink how they reach new consumers and engage with existing ones. Instead of pushing content to pre-selected groups, as was so effective over the last decade, the key now is to pull in customers with a fast-paced stream of creative campaigns.

Rethink the physical footprintMap out which physical stores continue to deliver ROI, leveraging physical touchpoints as opportunities to bring the brand to life for customers and build an emotional connection

Interest in gender-fluid fashion is driven by younger generations, particularly Gen-Z consumers, who see their gender identities as less static than their elders. Around half of Gen-Z globally have purchased fashion outside of their gender identity.2. The shift is visible not only on high-fashion runways but also in everyday shopping, withonline searches for “genderless” and “gender neutral” fashion increasing year on year. 3. Younger consumers are more likely to shop across gender lines, and consumers in North America, Europe, Japan and South Korea, among other locations, are expected to be the most receptive to gender-fluid strategies from fashion brands.

Brands will embrace creative campaigns and new channels such as retail media networks and the metaverse to achieve greater ROI on marketing spend and gather valuable first-party data that can be leveraged to deepen customer relat

and in-store and digital shopping experiences

only 3 percent of respondents listed web3 as a top theme shaping 2023 and only 8 percent said it had been a major consideration for 2022.

Fashion companies will need to rethink their operations. Many will update their organisational structures, introducing new roles or elevating existing ones to target key growth opportunities and respond more effectively to risk. Brands may also choose to see the next year as a time to team up with manufacturing partners to sharpen their supply chain strategies. This may involve nearshoring to better respond to fast-shifting consumer demand or leaning more heavily on data analytics and technology to manage inventory efficiently.

McKinsey expects global fashion sales growth of 5 percent to 10 percent for luxury, and negative 2 percent to positive 3 percent for the rest of the industry in 2023