Roblox report: Digital self expression continues to determine metaverse trends

Metaverse gaming platform Roblox is still holding onto the reins when it comes to the digital world, continuing to come out on top as one of the most lucrative and populated sites, reporting over 200 million average monthly players beginning October.

It is this expansive audience that allows it to garner such a vast understanding of the regular users that make their way into the metaverse everyday, particularly those of Gen Z who make up a large portion of players. Akin to last year, Roblox has compiled all this knowledge and data into its annual report, “2023 Digital Expression, Fashion and Beauty Trends”, where it explored the mindset of metaverse users as a whole and how they express themselves in immersive spaces.

Data derived from both a behavioural analysis and a self-reported survey by over 1,500 Gen Z members contributed to the results of the report, where, like the one prior, digital self expression has continued to prevail in the interests of respondents. And this is only growing. While last year, 42 percent of respondents said that styling their digital avatar was more important to them than styling themselves in the physical world, now 56 percent stated that this is in fact true.

For this group, there is also the recognition that digital fashion remains or is even growing in importance. Around 84 percent said that digital fashion was “somewhat important” to them, and 85 percent stated that they believed digital fashion had grown “some” over the past year. Meanwhile, over half believed they thought it had grown “a lot”.

What do brands need to know?

For brands, therefore, it's still important to continue understanding what the ever-evolving Gen Z user is looking for when they engage via the metaverse. For example, a huge number of respondents in Roblox’s report suggested that they favoured recognisable brands when shopping for their digital avatar, with three in four agreeing this factor was “somewhat” important while 47 percent said it was “very” or “extremely” important.

Similarly, there was also strong evidence to suggest that the intertwining of the physical and digital fashion worlds was ever present in the demands of consumers. A total of 43 percent of respondents said that they longed for items they could wear both in and outside of the metaverse – making this the ruling factor in what respondents felt they wanted to see the most from fashion brands. Additionally, a notable 84 percent of Gen Z said they were “somewhat likely” to consider a brand in the real world once they wore an item in the digital, with 50 percent stating they were “very” or “extremely” likely to do so.

Users also expressed that their digital iterations were further influencing the style of their real-life selves. Around 84 percent of users noted that their real life wardrobe had been “somewhat” inspired by their avatar’s style, with 54 percent agreeing that this was “very” or “extremely” likely. Additionally, one in four users said they often tried to look just like their avatars.

Willingness to spend was another factor highlighted by Roblox, which said that almost half of its respondents said they were comfortable with budgeting under 10 dollars a month to spend on digital clothing, while 19 percent were willing to spend up to 20 dollars and 18 percent were willing to spend between 50 to 100 dollars.