Unravelling Marketing In Metaverse: A Bibliometric Review

Abstract

Marketing in the metaverse has rapidly gained traction within the academia and business world. This disruptive and exponential evolution is ignited by advancements in virtual and augmented reality technologies. Marketing within this digital world presents both challenges and opportunities for practitioners and scholars alike. Current research is an endeavour to capture the current status of the research with emphasis on emerging technologies in marketing. This bibliometric review examined publications from 2010 to April, 2024, from Scopus database and revealed a notable surge in research productivity post-2021Citation analysis identified most influential papers and leading authors, while co-authorship and co-occurrence analyses highlight collaboration patterns and thematic trends of research on metaverse in the context of marketing. Influential works by authors like Dwivedi, Gursoy, and Buhalis have scored substantial attenti[1]on, depicting significant scholarly engagement with their work.  Keywords such as "metaverse," "virtual reality," and "augmented reality" dominate the thematic landscape, emphasizing the central role of immersive technologies in marketing practices. Collaboration among authors emphasised the interdisciplinary nature of research in this field. The findings suggested promising prospects for future research, including augmented reality marketing, immersive customer experiences, and ethical considerations in metaverse marketing. Practical implications include leveraging immersive technologies for brand engagement and addressing ethical concerns to build trust in metaverse marketing endeavours. By acknowledging methodological limitations and proposing recommendations for future research, this bibliometric review has contributed to advancing knowledge in marketing in the metaverse. It has served as a roadmap for marketers, brand managers, policymakers, and technology innovators to navigate the evolving landscape of virtual environments and leverage on the opportunities offered by the metaverse.