Operations

Metaverse in play with restaurant consumers

Photo by istock.com

June 21, 2022

More than a third of consumers, 38%, that already participate in the metaverse are willing to integrate restaurant purchases into the mix and 20% of restaurant patrons are familiar with the metaverse.

Those are top findings from a Paytronix report, "The Digital Divide: Technology, The Metaverse and the Future of Dining Out."

The data revealed the metaverse, a social virtual reality platform, may develop into a channel in which restaurant customers will interact with favorite brands, hang out with other brand fans and maybe even buy favorite foods, according to a press release on the findings.

Yet restaurants are advised they must focus on current customers before becoming well-versed with the metaverse and a big part is friendly waitstaff as more than 33% of consumers view friendliness as the most important aspect a restaurant can provide. In addition, 75% report that seeing the same staff on return visits positively influences the customer experience.

Additional findings include:

33% of grab-and-go customers are very or extremely familiar with the metaverse, more than double the share of either dine-in or either-or customers.
40% of Gen Z respondents are very familiar with the metaverse, although they do not lead all generations in actual metaverse participation.
34% of Millennials have participated in a metaverse environment. This may have to do with the generation's superior spending power, as consumers who earn over $100,000 annually are more likely than those of other income brackets to have participated in a metaverse environment.
21% of consumers who say they are not interested in buying food in the metaverse are not interested because they are either unfamiliar with it or believe the metaverse is complicated.

"The media landscape is already scattered, creating a massive fight for attention. Brands are vying for spots on Google search, in Facebook feeds, on Apple screens, and on any of dozens of different social sites. The metaverse represents the next battleground," Michelle Tempesta, CMO of Paytronix, said in the release. "Loyalty programs open a direct line of communication between brands and customers that only continues to grow in importance. Customers want to maintain a strong relationship with their favorite brands, regardless of where that happens."