More Indians are interested in buying products, have a dating experience in the Metaverse: Report

• About 68% of Indians are keen on shopping in the Metaverse while around 57% expressed a preference to access it to explore banking services in the next 12 months.
  
• More men than women are interested in experiencing virtual dates and events in the metaverse, says the FIS report.
  
• UPI has become the most common medium for transactions while shopping online.

Metaverse is gaining much popularity in India. About 68% of Indians are keen on shopping in that world while around 57% expressed a preference to access the Metaverse to explore banking services in the next 12 months, as per a consumer report by global financial services company FIS.

Products and services that Indians are interested in purchasing in the metaverse include virtual fashion clothing, event tickets to music concerts and sports matches, and games and gaming tokens, the report said.

Interestingly, of those surveyed, men (60%) are more interested in experiencing virtual dates and events in the metaverse than women (48%).

Indians keen to purchase from social media platforms as well

The report further revealed that 78% of Indians were likely to buy clothes, shoes and other fashion accessories from social media platforms, while 70% were also keen on grocery shopping on these platforms.

“As India has been witnessing a surge in digital marketplace, which is driven by quick delivery and return policies of marketers, special offers, targeted advertisements, better internet availability and use of smartphones; adoption of embedded finance in India is on the rise and is expected to maintain the upward trajectory in the next 12 months,” the report said.

About 63% of Indians favour in-app purchases because they are faster, convenient and offer rewards and cashback, as per the report.

However, some Indians have concerns while making purchases on social media platforms. As many as 56% of them worry about fraudulent sellers on social media platforms and 62% of Indians worry about experiencing fraudulent transactions while making in-app purchases.

“Customers of today expect seamless purchasing experiences and embedded services carry the promise to deliver them. However, the transparency involved in such offerings also needs to be considered by merchants to ensure the safety of their customers, while delivering an enjoyable payment experience,” said the report.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has become one of the most common mediums for online transactions among Indians as 76% of those surveyed use it during online shopping. Millennials account for the highest among the surveyed age groups to use UPI when shopping online, the report said.

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