European Leaders Anticipate Metaverse to Generate 5% to 20% of Revenue by 2030

The metaverse, a virtual reality space where users interact within a computer-generated environment and other users in real-time, offers experiences, from gaming and entertainment to social interactions and more. Much of the talk has been around the emerging technology’s potential to revolutionize how we work, connect, and engage with digital content and the revenue opportunities opening up for businesses.

Kearney, a global consultancy partnership, released a report titled "The Pragmatic Leader's Guide to the Metaverse," which highlights the uncertainty among senior telecommunications and consumer goods leaders have regarding the potential of the metaverse and its impact on business profitability.

The report reveals that a significant number of European consumer goods and telco leaders anticipate the metaverse to contribute to their revenues in the coming years. By 2025, 25% of leaders expect the metaverse to account for 5%-20% of their revenues, with 52% expecting the same by 2030.

However, the report highlights the challenge of monetizing these emerging concepts, with 84% of telecom leaders and 64% of consumer goods leaders acknowledging the need to explore new markets and channels to stay relevant in the metaverse.

“Companies that act now to develop a strategy for how the growth of the metaverse could impact their model will have a significant advantage over the competition in deciding which technologies, partnerships and investments will be necessary to access this revenue stream,” said Eric Gervet, Partner at Kearney.

Almost 9% of European leaders said they anticipate 20%-50% of their revenue will come from the metaverse by 2030. In North America, only 10% expect 5%-20% of revenue from the metaverse by 2025, increasing to 45% by 2030. And around 56% of consumer goods leaders and 59% of telco leaders in Europe view the metaverse positively, with higher optimism among telco professionals.

Cybersecurity is however a significant concern, highlighted by 57% of telco respondents and 63% of European consumer goods respondents, while regulatory risk is also considered impactful by a significant portion of respondents.

Commenting on the reports findings and what the future looks like for businesses in the metaverse, Jesper Larsson, Partner at Kearne said, “Technologies enabling and supporting the use of the metaverse, such as 5G, could offer potential to overcome this monetization challenge. Such technologies would support an increased flow of data and satisfy demand, building out the capability of this platform even as they make it more profitable. Indeed, the metaverse could be the very use case that 5G has been waiting on, to realize its true potential.”