Will the Metaverse Take Off in China? A Realistic View

Every few years a big new technology concept arrives with promises that it will change everything, and the metaverse was one of the loudest. For foreign brands watching China, the question was whether to pour money into it, ignore it, or something in between. The honest answer is more useful than the hype on either side. China has a real appetite for new digital experiences, and parts of what the metaverse promised, immersive content, virtual goods, gaming worlds, new ways to engage, already live happily inside the platforms Chinese consumers use every day. So the lesson is not about chasing a buzzword, it is about how foreign brands should treat shiny new trends in China: with curiosity, but with their feet planted in where Chinese consumers actually are. Here is how to think about the metaverse and trends like it without getting carried away.

Why the hype needs a reality check

New technology concepts arrive with enormous promises, and the metaverse was sold as a whole new world brands had to rush into or be left behind. The reality in China is calmer and more practical. Chinese consumers are genuinely open to new digital experiences, virtual goods, immersive content, and gaming worlds are popular, and the appetite for novelty is real. But that appetite mostly plays out inside the platforms people already live in, not in a separate new universe brands had to build from scratch. So a foreign brand that treated the metaverse as a must-rush-in land grab risked spending heavily on something abstract, while the brands doing well kept investing in where Chinese consumers actually spend their attention and added new experiences there. The trend pointed at something real, the desire for richer digital engagement, but the smart response was evolution within existing platforms, not a leap into a separate hyped world.

This is the pattern with most big trends in China. There is usually a real shift underneath the hype, but it expresses itself through the platforms and behaviours people already have, so the winning move is to understand the underlying desire and meet it where your audience is, not to chase the buzzword for its own sake.

How to treat any new trend in China

A few principles keep a brand sane when the next big concept arrives.

• Find the real desire underneath. Ask what genuine want the trend reflects, not what the buzzword claims.
• Stay where your audience is. Meet the new desire on the platforms Chinese consumers already use daily.
• Experiment small. Test new experiences cheaply before betting big on anything unproven.
• Keep the fundamentals. Demand, trust, and discovery still decide sales, however shiny the trend.

Should a brand invest in the metaverse in China?

Only to the extent it serves real engagement with your actual audience, not because the word sounds futuristic. For most foreign brands, the sensible answer is to experiment with immersive or virtual experiences where they genuinely add something for your customers, while keeping the bulk of your effort on the platforms and behaviours that already drive your sales. A brand with a huge budget and a young, tech-forward audience might justify bigger bets on new experiences, but a focused brand is far better off using new tools to enrich how it engages on existing platforms than building something separate that few people visit. The risk with any hyped concept is spending real money chasing the buzzword while neglecting the unglamorous work that actually sells. Treat the metaverse as a set of tools and ideas to use where they fit, not a destination you must occupy, and you avoid the expensive mistake many brands made.

What actually drives sales while trends come and go?

The same fundamentals that always have: demand, discovery, and trust, built where Chinese consumers actually are. However the technology evolves, people still discover products through content and recommendation, especially on Xiaohongshu for considered purchases and Douyin for reach, and they still check whether a brand is genuine before they buy. When an interested buyer searches your brand to confirm it is real, your presence on Baidu still decides whether trust or doubt wins. New trends can add new ways to engage, but they do not replace these basics, they sit on top of them. A brand that keeps the fundamentals strong and uses new trends to enrich them will outperform one that chases every shiny concept while neglecting the work that turns attention into sales. Trends change, the fundamentals do not.

Can a small brand benefit from new trends?

Yes, and a small brand actually has an advantage: it can experiment nimbly without betting the business on a hyped concept. You do not need a huge metaverse budget, you need to stay curious, test new experiences cheaply where they fit your audience, and keep your core effort on the demand, discovery, and trust that drive your sales. A focused small brand can try a new format or experience on the platforms its buyers already use, see what resonates, and double down on what works, all without the expensive misadventures bigger companies make chasing buzzwords. The smart approach is to treat every new trend as a low-cost experiment layered on solid fundamentals, not a reason to abandon what works. A small brand that stays grounded and curious will catch the genuinely useful trends while avoiding the costly hype, which is exactly how a smaller company competes in a fast-moving market.

Where we come in

We are a team of 15 in Shanghai who help foreign brands stay grounded and effective in China: building the demand, discovery, and trust that drive sales, using new tools where they genuinely fit, and a credible presence on Baidu when buyers verify you. If you want a China strategy built on what works rather than hype, tell us about your brand.

Jon Wang is a straight-talking business man who lives and breathes Chinese ecommerce and distribution, and favours practical solutions over theory.