Products

EMARKETER delivers leading-edge research to clients in a variety of forms, including full-length reports and data visualizations to equip you with actionable takeaways for better business decisions.
PRO+
New data sets, deeper insights, and flexible data visualizations.
Learn More
Reports
In-depth analysis, benchmarks and shorter spotlights on digital trends.
Learn More
Forecasts
Interactive projections with 10k+ metrics on market trends, & consumer behavior.
Learn More
Charts
Proprietary data and over 3,000 third-party sources about the most important topics.
Learn More
Industry KPIs
Industry benchmarks for the most important KPIs in digital marketing, advertising, retail and ecommerce.
Learn More
Briefings
Client-only email newsletters with analysis and takeaways from the daily news.
Learn More
Analyst Access Program
Exclusive time with the thought leaders who craft our research.
Learn More

About EMARKETER

Our goal is to unlock digital opportunities for our clients with the world’s most trusted forecasts, analysis, and benchmarks. Spanning five core coverage areas and dozens of industries, our research on digital transformation is exhaustive.
Our Story
Learn more about our mission and how EMARKETER came to be.
Learn More
Methodology
Rigorous proprietary data vetting strips biases and produces superior insights.
Learn More
Our People
Take a look into our corporate culture and view our open roles.
Join the Team
Contact Us
Speak to a member of our team to learn more about EMARKETER.
Contact Us
Newsroom
See our latest press releases, news articles or download our press kit.
Learn More
Advertising & Sponsorship Opportunities
Reach an engaged audience of decision-makers.
Learn More
Events
Browse our upcoming and past events, recent podcasts, and other featured resources.
Learn More
Podcasts
Tune in to EMARKETER's daily, weekly, and monthly podcasts.
Learn More

China trend 2022: With the metaverse looming, virtual experiences will come to the fore

The virtual world will change the way consumers in China interact online and shop.

Companies like Alibaba, Baidu, ByteDance, and Tencent have participated in a wave of trademarks filings and investments in the metaverse space, after Mark Zuckerberg touted it as “the next chapter for the internet” at the October Facebook Connect conference. Even before all of this, China’s digital shopping leaders made online shopping more immersive and virtual using technologies like 3D spaces, virtual personalities, and AR try-ons.

There now seems to be real momentum behind AR and VR experiences in China. The necessary ecosystem appears to finally be in place: a supportive regulatory environment toward emerging tech, expansive 5G networks, advances in affordable consumer-ready AR and VR hardware and software, and surging interest among local tech giants. Immersive and virtual tools have already been used in commerce, and in recent years, internet users in China have warmed to avatar-based social platforms, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), AR try-ons, and virtual celebrities, especially after the pandemic drove people to seek more immersive online experiences.

How much virtual shopping experiences will impact the bottom line is still unknown. The whole industry seems to agree that online shopping needs to be more real, but most retailers are still grappling with what that actually means and how much consumers want to shop on virtual storefronts versus real ones. Past virtual shopping experiences were introduced to consumers on an ad hoc basis with poor measurement of performance. And though Beijing has shown a supportive stance toward these new technologies and concepts, regulators wary of internet addiction could still crack down on them.