The metaverse promises an environment where our physical and digital personas merge into a virtual experience, and everything works together seamlessly. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean taking a break from that experience to pay for goods and services using your credit card, phone or digital wallet. That process is compounded even further by multi-factor authentication or other security measures we regularly use to confirm our identities.
This need for context switching derails the metaverse journey altogether. So where does this leave brands developing metaverse propositions?
Disruptive payment processes
The process of ensuring an immersive and, importantly, inclusive user experience is best achieved through testing done in-market or ‘in the wild’. Real-world testing with real users allows brands to grasp the challenges associated with delivering high-quality metaverse experiences.
This model was proven recently when the previously mentioned context switching issue came to light. It happened when we were conducting payment testing in the metaverse for a customer organisation via a VR headset.
The aim of the test was simple – make it as seamless as possible. Everything was fine, the tester wearing the headset was fully immersed in the metaverse experience… Until they reached the purchase point and found they needed a security code to verify the transaction. This meant they had to remove the headset, take out their phone and add the code via an app or text message. While this might seem like a minor inconvenience, it broke the entire experience; ruining the seamless process the customer was hoping to achieve.
Real world transactions go against the whole notion of the metaverse. Take gaming for example – having to pause to make an in-game payment that then must be verified to make it secure adds complexity. It takes the player out of the immersive experience altogether.
Gaming companies, retail brands and other businesses faced with these context switching challenges are prioritising how to solve them. Without full immersion, they won’t be able to deliver authentic metaverse experiences.
Several different options are being considered. These include biometric scans where users can purchase goods and verify payments via facial recognition. Another is a digital representation of a mobile phone or digital wallet that can function in a metaverse environment. But the latter may take a while to implement, as it requires levels of interoperability that currently are not available.
Securing financial details
Payment verification is only one aspect. There is also the issue of security to consider and how best to protect customers payment details. Take the previous in-game purchase scenario, for example. The last thing gamers or metaverse users want is to have to visually, or verbally, present debit or credit card information in what is essentially a public environment.
There have been some recent examples of digital theft and fraud where crypto accounts have been hacked. Dozens of attacks on Discord servers (typically used across gaming communities) have resulted in hacks of popular NFT projects. This has targeted people who hold crypto currencies and NFTs.
This criminal activity poses a huge threat to brands with metaverse aspirations. A targeted attack of this nature could lead to high financial losses and damage to reputations – notwithstanding the costs to customers themselves.
Testing in the wild
In-the-wild testing provides a level of certainty that can’t be achieved when testing exclusively in-house. Given the huge range of variables involved in this new virtual environment, traditional lab environments simply can’t provide adequate test data.
Brands need communities of testers that represent different demographics, languages, and any other specified characteristics. These must be representative of their customer base – able to conduct complex testing at scale using a wide range of available devices and interactive technologies.
Whatever form it eventually takes, a high-quality user experience is central to the concept of the metaverse. Whether it’s for an AR-enabled purchase, promotional offer or new prototype on which to perform a transaction. Overall, in-the-wild testing offers brands a better understanding of what happens when the boundaries between virtual and physical are blurred.