How Metaverse Creates Value for Luxury Brands

Frame of the research. Metaverse is quickly attracting the attention of luxury brands. Different levels of understanding and adoption are currently being utilized by luxury companies, whose attitudes toward this technology range from skepticism to enthusiasm. While Metaverse has the potential to reshape the way luxury brands create value for their customers and other stakeholders, the ingredients to create successful business models are still under scrutiny. Many variables seem to co-exist, and the synergistic impact of the different Metaverse environments, along with their enabling features and supporting technologies on luxury remains a relatively unexplored domain. Purpose of the paper. Introduce a new conceptualization of the Metaverse for luxury brands, offering a framework to assist in building value for customers and stakeholders. Metholodology. Exploratory, qualitative research methodology, based on 15 in-depth structured interviews with top managers of luxury brands. Results. The paper introduce a theoretical framework that links investments in Metaverse Technologies with customers’ perception of luxury attributes, the influence across a wide spectrum of stakeholders, and the link with strategic objectives. Research limitations. The sample of respondents, which represents the perspective of 15 top managers of the sector, might be enlarged in the future. Additionally, future research could develop quantitative analyses to structurally connects the different variables in the model. Managerial implications. The research shows how luxury brands can unlock the full potential of the Metaverse to reinforce, re-generate, access, and engage relevant stakeholders, affecting a relevant set of luxury attributes, strengthening relationships with existing customers, and embracing new target audiences. Originality of the paper. Introducing a new framework that connects Metaverse Technologies, with their impact on luxury attributes, stakeholders’s audience and business objectives.