NEW YORK, Feb 11 ― The famous fast food chain McDonald's is the latest firm that seems to be gearing up for its metaverse launch. The company recently filed applications to register several trademarks in the virtual realm.

Will you soon be able to order a Big Mac in the metaverse? It looks like that's where we're headed... even if it's not actually yet the case. McDonald's has applied to register several trademarks for virtual goods and services such as restaurants and cafés. Among other things, the application includes the idea of “a virtual restaurant featuring actual and virtual goods,” as well as “operating a virtual restaurant online featuring home delivery.” Lately, numerous companies have been showing interest in the metaverse. Is it a genuine technological initiative or fear of missing the boat? Either way, companies like Walmart, Disney, adidas and Nike have already got projects underway.

McDonald's seems to be following suit, joining rank with other major companies that are moving into the virtual reality market, symbolised by the Facebook group's name-change to Meta at the end of October 2021. The American fast-food giant seems to imagine using the metaverse as a channel for then delivering its offerings to consumers' homes. Taking things further, McDonald's has reportedly included “on-line actual and virtual concerts” in its trademark application for its digital McCafé. Other content, such as NFTs would also be envisaged by the world-famous brand, as well as virtual food and beverage items.

 

If this kind of initiative is now edging into the mainstream, it can still be hard to get your head around the idea. It's currently possible to get your McDonald's menu delivered on several applications and in barely five clicks, so how could the metaverse make it even easier? The answer might lie in the all-digital customer experience. A portion of the population might enjoy visiting these universes, where it's possible to imagine anything and see different things with each visit. For now, these questions remain unanswered, but companies like McDonald's no doubt have some ideas brewing. ― ETX Studio