Category
Tech
Fixable Devices
Trend cluster
Category
Virtual
Land
Virtual real estate is emerging as a new investment opportunity during COVID-19.
5.6
Trend score
Trend
What is the Virtual Land trend?
Virtual Land: Real-world real estate might be destabilized due to the COVID-19 pandemic but the popularity of virtual real estate is surging alongside NFTs (non-fungible tokens). In this space, brands, consumers, and investors alike are interested in online assets and concepts of digital property.
Insight
The consumer insight behind the Virtual Land trend
During the COVID-19 pandemic, government-imposed safety measures have necessitated restrictions and even bans on physical activities and events. Because of this, the economy has slowed down, resulting in the loss of jobs and work-from-home pivots. As consumers inevitably spend more time indoors with access to the Internet, they indulge in researching and experimenting with new forms of entertainment, communication, and/or earning a living—whether that is due to boredom or necessity.
Trend themes
Themes within the Virtual Land trend
Three behaviours holding the trend together01
Virtual Real Estate
The popularity of virtual real estate is surging alongside NFTs as consumers spend more time indoors and indulge in researching and experimenting with new forms of entertainment, communication, and/or earning a living in the digital environment.
02
NFT Investments
The recent interest in NFTs and digital environments has led to the creation of digital real estate NFT investment funds and user-owned virtual worlds which offer disruptive innovation opportunities for artists to showcase their work and better control their distribution.
03
Second Earth Concepts
IoT has developed to such an extent that it seems as if the digital environment itself is a second Earth and concepts such as Earth 2 offers disruptive innovation opportunities as a metaverse between virtual and physical reality where real-world geolocations on a sectioned map correspond to user-generated digital virtual environments.
Industry implications
What the Virtual Land trend means for industry
Where the trend changes the playbookFor
Real Estate
Virtual real estate is emerging as a new investment opportunity during COVID-19, thanks to its potential to destabilize traditional real-world real estate markets, and the surging popularity of NFTs.
For
Financial Technology
NFT investment funds offer a disruptive innovation opportunity for fintech startups and companies to explore blockchain-powered investment options in digital real estate markets.
For
Art and Entertainment
User-owned virtual worlds, digital real estate markets and NFTs have created a new canvas for artists and entertainment professionals to explore and showcase their work, while better controlling their distribution, creating disruptive innovation opportunities for the art and entertainment industries.
Workshop question
How can your brand utilize virtual land?
Trend signals
Trend signals for Virtual Land
Trend score 5.6 out of 10, from popularity 92%, activity 68%, freshness 10%.
Popularity92%
Activity68%
Freshness10%
Audience
50%Men
50%Women
- Gen Alpha
- Gen Z
- Millennial
- Gen X
- Boomer (not a primary audience)
Market
North America
Europe
Asia-Pacific
Evidence
Examples of the Virtual Land trend
4 featured examples from Apr 12, 2021CategoryBusiness
User-Owned Virtual Real Estate
On Decentraland, One Can Create, Explore, & Trade Items & Property
The concept of user-owned virtual real estate and the rise of decentralized virtual worlds provide opportunities for disruptive innovation in the virtual reality industry.
CategoryBusiness
Blockchain-Powered Virtual Worlds
Cryptovoxels is a User-Owned Virtual World and You Can Buy Land
The use of blockchain technology to power virtual real estate investment opportunities may disrupt traditional real estate markets and open up new opportunities for investors.
CategoryBusiness
NFT Investment Funds
Republic Realm is a Hyper-Exclusive Real Estate Investment Fund
Finance industry can leverage professionally managed NFT investment funds for digital real estate and extend their financial services to accredited investors in need of new invest…
CategoryBusiness
Futuristic Second Earth Concepts
Earth 2 is a Metaverse Between Virtual and Physical Reality
The emergence of digital property markets on Earth 2 creates potential disruptive innovation opportunities in real estate industries that explore virtual property sales and owners…
