Living in an Immaterial World: An exploratory study on consumer value perceptions in metaverse settings

Abstract: As sung by Madonna, "we are living in a material world" underscored by the consumption of physical goods. Beyond the glitz of materialism lies the grand problem of overconsumption, and correspondingly overproduction, of the world's finite resources. Consumption and why we consume are widely studied topics in academic literature, from psychology and sociology to business strategy and marketing perspectives. Consumers derive both physical and psychological value from consumption, which makes the transition to more sustainable behaviour difficult. Accompanying rapid developments of, growing use cases for, and an increasing adoption of the metaverse, are opportunities for new ways to consume in virtual contexts. This thesis aims to contribute to the emerging body of research on the metaverse by integrating existing frameworks on consumer perceived value with an inductive analysis from interviews with Generation Z metaverse consumers of virtual clothes, apparel, and other appearance-related products. The empirical findings demonstrate that consumers can perceive value from virtual products in the metaverse just as they do from consuming physical products in the material world. Perceived value in the metaverse can be described by an interplay of different value dimensions also present in physical consumption. With the metaverse being an entertainment channel at its core, experiential value is observed to take a prominent role in consumers' assessment of virtual products' ability to satisfy their needs, underlying all other value dimensions. A few experiential factors salient to metaverse consumption contexts are identified as key value sources. These are immersion, social presence, time/effort, and gameplay motivation and self-concept. The findings suggest that virtual products can fulfil psychological needs for stimulation, self-expression, social identity, and belonging for consumers who are deeply involved in the metaverse, who prioritise social engagements in it, and who associate their self-concept with their avatar's appearance. The results are promising for the sustainability discourse as they suggest that virtual consumption could substitute some physical consumption for these consumers. In addition to offering an updated perspective on existing consumer value frameworks, the thesis also identifies practical implications for brands to consider when developing their metaverse strategies and product offerings. The authors hope the findings inspire future research and propose some directions for it to take to continue exploring this nascent and evolving topic. Specifically, it will be important to extend the study to non-metaverse users to understand if they also perceive value from virtual consumption.