Virtual spend will outpace the real world says Yomego
You can't touch it, wear it or eat it - but virtual spend online is likely to increase by 30 per cent over the next year far outpacing the real world.
The latest phenomenon is (fluff) friends where users can buy virtual pets which they can feed with treats, enter races and adopt other virtual pets to keep them company.
According to Europe's leading social media agency Yomego - more than $1.5bn* will be spent this year on virtual goods - items that will only ever exist as pixels on a screen.
The agency predicts that the trade in virtual gifts - in-game items and goods to dress and customise avatars - will easily outpace retail spend in the High Streets as leading brands such as Nike move into the online marketplace.
Dan Campbell, Senior Planner at Yomego, has tracked the growth of these goods to Sony's 2005 launch of 'Station Exchange' for online gamers to purchase virtual weapons, armour and even higher level characters.
More recently, the proliferation of avatars has tapped into the need for self expression online and buying a pair of Nike branded trainers for your alter-egos is an important means of differentiation in the virtual world.
Campbell says: "An avatar generation is growing up online and self-expression in the virtual world is as important as it is in the real world. What we are seeing is more and more opportunities to personalise and enhance your digital experience and this trend looks set to continue."
Habbo Hotel has more than 75 million registered avatars in 29 countries and 90% of their $60m + yearly revenue comes from virtual goods.
MTV Virtual Worlds has also reported that 80% of visitors have purchased virtual goods.
Added Campbell: "At Yomego, we're building in virtual gift services into a social media development for the East Asian market. People are responding positively to increasingly sophisticated options and engaging experiences are now more accessible online, without having to download big applications. It's no wonder that top brand names are interested."
"Online time has surpassed TV time and for vast numbers of young people this literally means living online. Barbie Girl World had 11 million visitors in the first 12 months and Neopets has in the region of 12 million unique users every month.
Campbell concludes: "With fluff (friends) you choose or buy a virtual pet and display this on your profile page. Just as it costs to keep a real pet so it costs to keep a virtual one. It is another example of where the virtual and the real worlds cross over. Social media has never been more mainstream - over 100,000 people use this application every day."
