Sources of competitive advantage of retailers in metaverse
(A2023-114489)

AUTHORS

Roberto Bruni, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio; Annarita Colamatteo, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio; Dusan Mladenovic, Masaryk University

ABSTRACT

Metaverse is an immersive 3D environment with a high disrupting potential in an array of industries and sectors. Among other industries, the retail sector is one of those that will be strongly involved in Metaverse-nested projects. Several well-known retailers have already started to experiment within the Metaverse environment. Their early appearance is primarily driven by the notion to timely position their brands and ensure competitive advantage over the laggards in Metaverse. Given the assumed convergence of physical and Metaverse shopping experience, retailers must identify critical opportunities and challenges in context of competitive advantages. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to reflect on the current FMCG retail sources of competitive advantage in brick-and-mortar stores and identify the differences and some propositions in Metaverse retail context.