Two years ago, in the week leading up to Black Friday, I kept getting notifications from the Amazon app on my phone.

The notifications were all advertising its “View in Room” feature.

It allowed you to pick a product and use your phone’s camera to see what it would look like in the room of your choice.

We’re going to see an explosion in the number of investable opportunities in the metaverse space.

It was amazing because you didn’t have to break out the tape measure to see if it would fit in an area.

And you didn’t have to close your eyes and imagine what it would look like in that space.

This year on Black Friday, I found that same feature offered by many retailers.

But that’s just the beginning.

These features are going to be everywhere in 2022.

AR Is The Future of Marketing

The ability to view something in your space before buying it is just one use of this technology.

Several companies have already found innovative uses for augmented reality (AR):

  • Kia has a virtual showroom accessible through virtual reality (VR) headsets. It allows you to walk around and view its cars as though you were there in person.
  • Converse lets you aim your phone’s camera at your foot to try out different shoe styles. That way you can find the one that best suits you.
  • L’Oréal’s AR uses your selfie camera to let you try on different makeup. Then you can find the right shades and colors that match your skin tone.

AR makes sense for businesses like these.

It allows them to improve their e-commerce by better showcasing their products.

And customers feel more secure in their purchases because they have had a chance to “try before you buy.”

Why 2022?

A report by e-Marketer predicts that nearly a third of Americans will use AR in 2022.

ar and vr users

Another report from e-Marketer found that 20% of U.S. retailers are investing in or expect to invest in AR and VR.

But I think these estimates are conservative considering the major catalysts at play in the coming year:

  • COVID-19 and its variants have forced retailers to embrace e-commerce like never before. But if they want to improve customer satisfaction, they have to offer something comparable to an in-store experience. AR can help bridge this gap.
  • The 5G rollout is still underway and will greatly improve AR experiences. AR tends to require a lot of bandwidth and will work best with fast connections. This has the potential to transform AR experiences on smartphones.
  • Facebook’s pivot to the metaverse will accelerate the development of AR and VR technologies. In 2022 the metaverse will act as a conduit for marketing and advertising activities.

Invest in the Metaverse Now

Grand View Research expects the AR market to grow from $25 billion this year to $36 billion in 2022.

Considering this research came out before the metaverse frenzy, I think this is way too conservative an estimate.

I believe this market will easily double by the end of 2022.

And that means we’re going to see an explosion in the number of investable opportunities in this space.

But for now, you can buy the Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF (NYSE: META).

Roundhill established this new ETF earlier this year. It gives you comprehensive exposure to VR and AR tech companies.

You can also check out Ian King’s Next Wave Crypto Fortunes service for a crypto angle to this new trend.

Keep following us at Winning Investor Daily for updates on this space.

Regards,

Andrew Prince

Research Analyst, Strategic Fortunes

 

Morning Movers


From open till noon Eastern time.

 

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (OTC: FMCCH) is up 25% this morning, continuing its rally from Tuesday after the Federal Housing Finance Agency released its breakdown of loan limits for 2022. It showed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will soon provide guarantees for mortgages close to $1 million thanks to the past year’s sharp rise in home prices.

Ambarella Inc. (Nasdaq: AMBA) develops semiconductor solutions for video that enable high-definition compression, image processing and computer vision processing. The stock is up 24% after several analysts raised their price targets on the stock after the company reported better-than-expected earnings results and strong guidance.

 

Roivant Sciences Ltd. (Nasdaq: ROIV) is a biopharmaceutical and health care technology company that researches and develops medicines for solid tumors, sickle cell diseases, hypophosphatasia, oncologic malignancies and many other conditions. The stock is up 25% this morning despite not having any significant news to report.

 

Box Inc. (NYSE: BOX) provides a cloud content management platform that enables organizations to manage and share their content from anywhere on any device. It is up 13% after reporting results for Q3 that beat expectations, thanks to increased customer adoption of its platform.

 

Federal National Mortgage Association (OTC: FNMAO) is up 11% this morning on the same news of higher loan limits that is driving up the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation mentioned earlier.

 

Bright Health Group Inc. (NYSE: BHG) engages in the delivery and financing of health insurance plans. It is up 9% today thanks to NeueHealth, its rapidly growing care delivery and provider enablement business. The stock rose after NeueHealth laid out its growth strategy expected to generate approximately $2 billion in revenue in 2022.

 

Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: RETA) is a clinical=stage biopharmaceutical company that develops novel therapeutics by targeting molecular pathways that regulate cellular metabolism and inflammation. It has no news to report but is up 8% on increased options trading activity.

 

DiDi Global Inc. (NYSE: DIDI), the Chinese ride-hailing company, is up 8% today as part of a bounce-back after sinking Tuesday on the news that Chinese authorities requested that the company delist from U.S. markets.

 

Weichai Power Co. Ltd. (OTC: WEICY) manufactures and sells diesel engines, automobiles and other major automobile components in China. It is up 7% today but has no real news connected to the move.

 

Bancolombia S.A. (NYSE: CIB) provides various banking products and services to individual and corporate customers in South America. It is up 7% today as the stock slowly rises with the continued decline in short interest in the stock over the last month.