Report: By 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse

According to Gartner, by 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day on the metaverse for work, shopping, education, social and/or entertainment.

Gartner defines a metaverse as a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality. It is persistent, providing enhanced immersive experiences, as well as device independent and accessible through any type of device, from tablets to head-mounted displays. 

Gartner expects that the metaverse will have a virtual economy enabled by NFTs and digital currencies, as there is no single vendor to own it. The company says the metadata will both impact every business that consumers interact with every day and the way how works get done. 

“Enterprises will have the ability to expand and enhance their business models in unprecedented ways by moving from a digital business to a metaverse business,” Marty Resnick, research vice president at Gartner.  “By 2026, 30% of the organizations in the world will have products and services ready for metaverse.”

The adoption of metaverse technologies is nascent and fragmented, and Gartner cautions organizations about investing heavily in a specific metaverse. “It is still too early to know which investments will be viable in the long term, but product managers should take the time to learn, explore and prepare for a metaverse in order to position themselves competitively,” said Resnick. 

According to Sensor Tower, more than 500 mobile apps now use the term “metaverse” in their app titles or descriptions. Per an App Annie report, metaverse mobile games are poised to see over $3.1 billion in annual consumer spending in 2022.