Facebook parent company Meta has opened a digital clothing store where users can buy virtual designer clothes for their avatars. The range includes outfits from brands such as Balenciaga, Prada and Thom.
Meta has opened a virtual clothing store on its Instagram and Facebook platforms. Users can buy virtual designer outfits for their avatars. The range includes brands such as Balenciaga, Prada and Thom.
The announcement was made by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg via Facebook. As reported by the Reuters news agency, a company spokesperson also said that the price range for the virtual designer outfits will be $2.99 to $8.99.
Meta Avatars Store: An open marketplace?
Zuckerberg, in turn, said that he hopes to develop the Avatar Store into an open marketplace. The goal is to enable developers to offer and sell a wide range of virtual clothing. He added:
Digital goods will be an important way to express ourselves in the metaverse and an important driver for the creative economy. I look forward to adding more brands and bringing this to VR soon.
Users of the U.S. company’s virtual reality headsets, for example, can create avatars to play video games, attend sports classes and participate in video conferences. However, according to Meta, the virtual outfits will initially only be available on Facebook, Instagram and Facebook Messenger.
The next step in the direction of Metaverse
Last year, the Zuckerberg Group already revised its VR avatars to make them more three-dimensional and expressive. Since the beginning of the year, the new 3D avatars have been available on Facebook and Instagram.
Meta thus wants to offer its users the opportunity to express their identity on its in-house networks and on other services. To this end, the U.S. company wants to link different platforms more closely with each other. The goal is to create an immersive metaverse in which users can meet and network with each other in a virtual world.
