By 2026, 25% of people will have spent at least one hour a day in the metaverse for work, shopping, education, social and entertainment purposes, according to new research.

The Monday report by technology research and consulting company Gartner found that in anticipation of this migration to the metaverse, brands are already building the infrastructure to allow their users to replicate their lives digitally.

According to Gartner vice president Marty Resnick, brands will need to collaborate in order to unify the metaverse as their users continue to demand virtual, interactive, three-dimensional experiences.

He explained, “From attending virtual classrooms to buying digital land and constructing virtual homes, these activities are currently being conducted in separate environments.”

He believes that 30% of the organizations in the world will have products and services in the metaverse by 2026:

“Eventually, they will take place in a single environment — the metaverse — with multiple destinations across technologies and experiences.”
This comes after research firm Strategy Analytics found that the global metaverse market is forecast to hit nearly $42 billion by 2026. However, a November report from Grayscale found that the total valuation might even reach $1 trillion in the coming years. The rate of active metaverse users increased 10x between the start of 2020 and June 2021.

Either way, Terra Virtua co-founder and CEO Jawad Ashraf said that the research highlights that the metaverse will change the way in which users interact with virtual environments, predicting that it will become a destination for social occasions, work meetings, gaming events, music concerts and more.

“It may be too early to predict exactly what the metaverse will become, but what we do know is it will open up completely new experiences and enhance our lives.”

Pointing out that the adoption of metaverse technologies is nascent and fragmented, Resnick urged organizations and investors to proceed with caution. He said, “It is still too early to know which investments will be viable in the long term.”

“Product managers should take the time to learn, explore and prepare for a metaverse in order to position themselves competitively.”