Customer experience and the metaverse in aviation

Gartner has predicted that 25 percent of people will spend at least one hour each day in the metaverse by 2026. McKinsey estimates that the metaverse may generate up to $5 trillion by 2030 across consumer and enterprise use cases. This opens possibilities for African aviation to position itself to improve customer experience for greater profitability. Those who understand the customer journey and how to provide experiences that are meaningful will go a long way in attracting and retaining customers leveraging on the metaverse.

The metaverse is generally an online, three dimensional environment where people can communicate, socialize, collaborate, shop, conduct transactions and work. The metaverse is not likely to replace physical customer experience nor online customer experiences also. The advent of the metaverse translates into opportunities and challenges for all stakeholders in the aviation value chain and more so for customer experience. The ICAO conference hosted in Turkey in June gave our African counterparts an opportunity to see the use of virtual reality at the airport in Istanbul.

It seems set to become an important new channel. It is likely to follow the pace of social media as it did a few years ago. The metaverse makes it possible to use a virtual reality handset to experience any outdoor happening such as a movie, a café or shopping in a new cartoon avatar. It is an opportunity to create meaningful, personalised customer experiences. Examples of application of augmented reality in aviation exist such as assisting passengers in easily finding check-in counters, escalators, right gate and baggage claim areas in an airport. Simulators can be equipped with latest training scenarios for flight and fire fighting training also.

Organisations wanting to pursue customer experience in the metaverse need, therefore, to be virtually active. Qatar Airways launched its virtual reality experience that users can access through its website. One interesting aspect is the presence of virtual cabin crew. Here, passengers can take a look inside the aircraft of the airline from the comfort of their homes.

Customers can, for instance, choose their avatar based on gender, age, social networks and interests. This allows customers to present themselves in a way they like. So airports can develop a customer – centric approach and enhance their knowledge of customers. Indeed, travellers can be allowed to experience things like hotel rooms, flights, retail offerings at airports, leveraging on the metaverse in an approach that emphasises “try before you buy”.

Airports should also consider how the customer experience in the metaverse impacts the employee experience. Customer experience and employee experience complement each other. There is the need to therefore understand how they connect in the metaverse. It is imperative, also, to understand how employees will support the needs of customers in an always on, avatar driven world.

Now what are the risks with the metaverse? These risks come from the challenges associated with the internet such as impersonation, social engineering, attempts to steal credentials, espionage and the fact that no human systems are perfect and as such there will be vulnerabilities that are inevitable. Organisations need to be on the lookout and vigilant for risks that will arise with the metaverse.

McKinsey, the global strategy firm, gives concerns to be kept in mind as organisations step into the metaverse:  Data and privacy issues and regulatory standards related to user rights should be top in the minds of executives. The metaverse being built should be equitable, safe and sustainable. Talent and diversity issues should always be in the front and biases related to technology should be minimised. Organisations should also address and stamp out abuse, harassment and misinformation as they walk the path of the metaverse, advises McKinsey.

McKinseys advises that, from its research, it found out that simply not participating in the metaverse may result in a significant competitive disadvantage. This terrain though virtual has real potential and stakeholders in African aviation need to begin to think about it very seriously.