Emperia CEO Olga Dogadkina talks virtual stores, gaming platforms and popular but absurd comparisons
Comparing virtual stores to gaming platforms such as Roblox might be all the rage right now, but it makes no sense.
So says Olga Dogadkina, Founder and CEO at Emperia.
In a LinkedIn post, she says: “Virtual stores and gaming platforms are often seen as like for like technologies. On the surface, they indeed have some similarities: both are defined as an interactive 3D environment experienced in first-person mode or as an avatar; engagement is an important metric for both.”
That, however, is where the similarities end, Dogadkina argues.
Roblox is a standalone UGC driven platform with millions of users engaging with it as a whole and not the brand specifically.
“Gaming platforms are effectively replacing social media for Gen Z and Gen Alpha and becoming what Instagram is for Millennials,” Dogadkina comments.
“Virtual stores live within brands’ ecosystems on their own websites and apps, focusing on brand driven content and striving on brand specific audience. They are the evolution of an e-commerce website into spatial computing.”
The main KPIs for Roblox experiences is user engagement and MAUs. The main KPIs for virtual stores are commercially driven (conversion, basket size, brand equity etc).
Users come to Roblox to spend time: hang out with friends, share and consume content, have fun. Users come to virtual stores to shop and discover what the brand has to offer.
“Putting this into an entirely Web2 perspective, we are trying to draw a direct comparison between Amazon and Instagram,” Dogadkina states.
She adds: “With this in mind, isn’t it absurd to expect consumers to suddenly start hanging out with no purchase intent on Amazon like they hang out on Instagram? Virtual spaces are already a behavioural adjustment for many consumers, which requires market education from both the brands and the tech platforms powering them.”
“Whilst intersection of virtual and social commerce is the ultimate goal, a shift of this magnitude requires multiple technologies and continuous marketing effort from the brands and the retail ecosystem.”
She concludes: “So why are we expecting to shift not only the format and UX of the online shopping journey, but also the consumer intent at the very core of that journey simultaneously?”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense to expect virtual stores and gaming platforms to work hand in hand, as different stages of the funnel, just like e-commerce sites and social media do?”
Funding round
Earlier this year, Emperia, which creates immersive e-commerce spaces for retail brands, raised a $10 million Series A.
This followed an $875k pre-seed in 2021 (featuring Concept Ventures, SFC Capital, Blissgrowth).
The Series A round was led by Base10 Partners and joined by investors including Daphni (via its retail fund Dastore), Sony Innovation Fund, Background Capital, Stanford Capital Partners and Concept Ventures. Angels include Blissgrowth’s Jay Radia.
Emperia's clients include Dior, Bloomingdales and Lacoste. It was launched in 2019.
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