Avatar and self-concept in the era of metaverse

There are a lot of brand experience in Metaverse. For example, we can participate in Samsung Galaxy Fan party, UC Berkeley graduation class, and even Ralph Lauren store in Metaverse. When the consumers experience such events in Metaverse, they have to use their avatar by making a user name. They have the option of using either their real or fictional name in Metaverse. There are two types of avatar in Metaverse. First, they can use actual self-avatar by using their real name. Second, they can create totally new avatars using made up name. The name is one of the symbols of self. Therefore, we can easily predict that consumer experience with avatar will affect the consumer perception differently. Which type of avatar will then enhance the brand engagement? Results show that the consumer experience with avatars affected brand attitudes differently. Also, the consumer's experience with avatars based on their actual images in the Metaverse affected the positive brand attitude. This study suggests that Metaverse avatars can also let people interact with themselves and with each other in parasocial ways. This study examines the role of avatar in virtual world; consumers experience with avatar can provide useful implications in terms of digital transformation.
This study can provide some implications for theory. We have employed self-concept theory in the Metaverse world, which is the key concept to build consumer-brand relationship. Examining augmented world environments can provide different and useful implications. One practical implication is that using Metaverse for employment community can extend the implications in terms of internal marketing and employment experiences (Dwivedi et al., 2022). This study also can provide useful practical implications in terms of brand management. When using Metaverse for customer participation events, it should be encouraging customers to create their own avatar based on actual images. Metaverse experience based on the actual self thus can lead to the increase of consumer’s brand attitude.