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• For the first time, Roblox is making it easier for anyone to create in Marketplace.
• Marketplace is a powerful place for creators and brands to connect with their audience.
• We’re expanding Marketplace to be more personal and to foster more self-expression.
• We’re developing new tools and systems to ensure that Marketplace is safe and that creators’ and brands’ IP is protected. 

At Roblox, we’re building an immersive platform for connection and communication where 71.5 million users* come every day to entertain themselves, hang out with friends, and have fun. 

Nearly everything users discover on Roblox is made by our global community of creators. And our job is to help creators make the experiences, avatars, clothing, and accessories our users will enjoy.

Since 2019 we’ve allowed, through application only, a small and growing number of people to create 3D virtual items in Marketplace, one of the key destinations on Roblox for users to shop and express themselves through their avatars. 

Today, we’re making it easier for anyone to create in Marketplace. This will be a powerful step forward for creators and brands to market a diverse collection of avatars, clothing, and accessories, and to connect with their audience.  

One of the biggest benefits of this is the surge of great new content that we expect will soon be available there. Millions of users already visit Marketplace every day, and in December, 2023, nearly 71 percent of them spent time editing their avatar. And people have bought billions of items there, including nearly 1.6 billion digital fashion items during the first nine months of 2023. Brands are also getting in on the action: in 2023, our brand partners sold about 27 million items on Roblox.

adidas is bringing its iconic sport and lifestyle brand to Roblox

A great example is adidas. The brand has collaborated with Roblox creators like Rush_X and CoffeeNerdz on a diverse catalog of hundreds of items, including rare, sold-out Limiteds like its Neckpiece. adidas is bringing its iconic sport and lifestyle product to Roblox and plans to experiment with a shopping experience where users can create their own adidas virtual items and outfits.

In Marketplace, some creators have found success by diversifying the variety of things people can buy. A great example is Lirn, an original Marketplace creator, who wanted to fill a gap in gaming for authentic Black hairstyles. A self-taught creator, she’s collaborated with brands like Gucci, and created items like her HeadScarf, Bantu Knots, Pigtails Locs, Box Braids, and others. Roblox users have bought millions of her items. 

By opening up creation on our platform, we’re now able to welcome more creators like Lirn. Moving forward, here are the three areas we’re focusing on to achieve this:

• Making creation easier for anyone
• Evolving Marketplace to foster more self-expression
• Laying the foundations of a healthy Marketplace 

Making Creation Easier for Anyone

Making it easier for anyone to create and sell 3D virtual items in Marketplace and/or in experiences is just the start. We’re also working to inspire professional creators to build successful businesses on our platform by developing new ways to make creation on Roblox easier, regardless of their experience level. 

For example, our new Avatar Auto Setup tool leverages AI to quickly and automatically convert 3D models into avatars people can use on Roblox right away. Using this tool, which is launching broadly in the coming month, can reduce the time it takes to create an avatar from days to minutes.

Our new Avatar Auto Setup tool quickly converts 3D models into avatars**

And soon, we’ll offer templates allowing creators and brands to build customizable shopping experiences dedicated to the buying and selling of avatar items. For example, Dress to Impress is a space that celebrates diversity and inclusivity, and where users can dress up as themselves and then walk a runway or vote on others’ looks. 

There’s a growing number of experiences like this, and we’ll begin by surfacing them in Marketplace, which will help connect the creators and brands who make them with the broader audience there.

Evolving Marketplace to Foster More Self-Expression

We want Marketplace to be a more inspiring, personalized, and social shopping experience than ever before. In the coming year, we’ll expand what’s available there beyond individual items and focus on developing an avatar-first shopping experience. This will create more personalized and diverse content and unlock social shopping. It will also provide new ways for creators and brands to share their collections and connect with their audience.

Avatar-first shopping experience

Buy entire outfits or mix-and-match before you buy.**

Since its inception, Marketplace has been dedicated to selling individual avatar items. Now, the Marketplace shopping experience is evolving. Users will be able to find inspiration from styled avatars and outfits and buy an entire outfit’s items, or just some of it. Shopping in Marketplace will soon be similar to the physical world. When users look for a specific item, they’ll be able to see how everything they discover would look in their existing wardrobe or what they might wear it with. 

That’s important because we know that when users shop in Marketplace, they want to complete their avatar’s look with multiple items. In fact, users buy more than one item 60% of the time.

In addition, Roblox users can search for outfits. That means creators and brands can express their full creative vision by selling entire looks and avatars rather than just single items. And creators will be able to collaborate and sell outfits made of items by different people.

More Personalized and Diverse Avatar Content

We know that many people on Roblox want to express their individual personalities and identities. To do that, shopping needs to be personalized and it should be easy to move between discovery and avatar customization. That’s why we’re developing new tools that make all that possible. 

For example, AI has become a crucial technology across our entire platform, powering things like creation and safety. Soon, it will provide individual shoppers with diverse and personalized items rather than showing everyone the same list. Someone might see collections or outfits from creators or brands that fit their style or outfits that are popular with their friends. They might also see trending shopping experiences, or seasonal collections (like for Halloween or Christmas).

A More Social Marketplace Will Unlock Users’ Creativity

Digital fashion is increasingly a source of inspiration, and we believe the next wave of fashion designers will emerge on our platform. We want to support their efforts, and we’re proud to see digital designs created on Roblox recreated in the physical world. For example, at RDC 2023, we showcased physical replicas of two Parsons School of Design students’ Roblox creations. 

At RDC 2023, we showcased physical replicas of two Parsons School of Design students’ Roblox creations.

Going forward, we’ll make it easier for users to discover and follow new creators and brands and always stay up to date on their latest offerings. In turn, creators and brands will have new ways to connect with their audience and showcase their creations.

Many people see their avatars as intrinsically social — a way to connect with friends. We want to help them share their newest avatar outfits. Many users and creators are already doing that by posting screenshots or videos on external social or messaging platforms.

WhoseTrade, who created 20 items which sold more than 100,000 times (and dozens more with at least 50,000 sales), is an exceptional example. He collaborated with the electronic music brand Monstercat on a rare Limited that sold for 1 million Robux, as well as with Nivea. Like others, he’s significantly grown his social channels by posting his creations.

Soon, users will be able to share their latest avatar creations or newly-purchased items on Roblox. We think this will unlock more creativity for many users. It will also help them become curators and influencers while boosting creators’ exposure.

Laying the Foundations of A Healthy Marketplace

We’ve developed new methods to help creators and brands find success. Those include tools to defend their IP, maximize their earning potential, and simplify managing competitive pricing. 

Protecting Creativity

We recently launched Rights Manager, which helps creators, developers, and brands manage their content and IP on Roblox, and increases transparency around filing removal requests. 

We’ve also introduced a publishing advance system that inspires creators to focus on their highest-potential creations rather than generic items that distract buyers. 

At the same time, to ensure accountability and deter bad actors, creators wanting to build on Roblox must verify their identity through our ID verification process. This allows us to enforce our Marketplace policies and deter violators from returning to the platform.

An Economy Responsive to Supply and Demand

Our virtual economy should reflect market conditions, so we’re implementing a new system to ensure prices on Marketplace respond to supply and demand.

Previously, some creators had a difficult time knowing how to price their items and when such prices should be increased or reduced in response to fluctuating market demands.  Guessing at how to price items does not benefit creators or buyers.  

Our new system can help support smarter pricing to better reflect market conditions by automatically setting the lowest price in an item category based on demand. We also give creators controls that let them set rules for how much to charge for their items relative to these dynamic prices. We’re confident this will help make sure creators can earn a fair return while giving consumers more access to items at fair market prices.

Diverse Ways of Expression

We know that the Roblox ecosystem is richer and stronger when we enable varied and diverse ways for people to create and express themselves. We’re excited to build tools and systems that expand our creator community while giving people more opportunity to buy things they’ll love.

____________________________________________________________________________

* As of Q4 2023

** Rendering shown for illustrative purposes only. Actual features and other visual depictions may vary and are subject to change at any time.

The post Making Creation and Expression Easier for Anyone In Marketplace appeared first on Roblox Blog.

Pretty much every change Niantic makes to Pokémon GO results in enormous backlash from its vast community of players. That’s usually because pretty much every change Niantic makes to Pokémon GO is disastrous and stupid. The latest is a new avatar creator, and guess what.

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Self-expression is a vital part of many people’s experiences in immersive 3D spaces—especially Gen Z, who are growing up building connections in digital worlds. That’s why we’ve put together the 2023 Digital Expression, Fashion & Beauty Trends Report, which explores the full spectrum of self-expression through avatars, including brand considerations, the psychology behind creating an avatar look and the impact of authentic self-expression on people’s physical style, purchasing decisions, and even mental well-being. 

This work builds on the research we did last year that provided valuable early insights on how people express themselves in immersive spaces. Our 2023 report offers new insights that will help creators, brands and industry experts better anticipate and respond to quickly evolving consumer needs.

Here are the top 5 takeaways from the 2023 report*:

1. The importance of digital self-expression continues to grow

In this year’s survey* of over 1,500 members of Gen Z in the U.S. and UK who are active on platforms like Roblox, 56% say styling their avatar is more important to them than styling themselves in the physical world. And for older Gen Z aged 22-26, 64% say that, given a choice, dressing up their avatar would be more important than dressing up in the physical world.

Additionally, 84% of Gen Z respondents say digital fashion is at least somewhat important for them, and  85% think the importance of digital fashion has grown at least some over the past year. More than half (53%) think it’s grown a lot.

These findings echo what we see on our platform: self-expression through digital identity and fashion is an essential part of people’s experience. For example, during the first three quarters of 2023 on Roblox, there were a total of 165 billion avatar updates, up 38% year over year, and people bought nearly 1.6 billion digital fashion items and accessories, up 15% year over year. Plus, millions of Roblox users continue to update their avatars every day.

But the influence of digital style and fashion doesn’t stay in the virtual world. In the survey, 84% report that their physical style is at least somewhat inspired by their avatar’s style, including 54% who say they are very or extremely inspired by what their avatar and other avatars wear.

2. Brand recognition matters for Gen Z in the metaverse

When it comes to metaverse fashion, survey respondents stress that they care about distinct styles and brand recognition: 52% say “stylish digital clothes” is the attribute they pay most attention to when deciding if an avatar is “cool-looking.” And three in four say wearing digital fashions from a recognized brand is at least somewhat important, including 47% of survey respondents who say it’s very or extremely important.

This dynamic can drive purchasing behavior: 84% say that after wearing or trying on a brand’s item in virtual spaces, they’d be at least somewhat likely to consider this brand in the physical world. In fact, 50% say they’d be very or extremely likely to do so.

3. Consumers are open to spending on digital fashion—the more exclusive the better

Meanwhile, designers and brands will be happy to learn that most Gen Z users are also willing to spend on digital fashion: in our survey, 52% say they’re comfortable budgeting up to $10 each month, while another 19% are willing to spend up to $20 monthly and an additional 18% are open to buying $50-$100 of items every month. 

The launch of Limiteds this year highlighted Roblox users’ demand for exclusive and rare items, as evidenced by most Limiteds reselling for more than their original cost.

For example, community members lined up to earn Limiteds via challenges in the Gucci Ancora experience and to buy up items from Roblox-native brands like CHRUSH.

Similarly, a leading electronic music brand, Monstercat, recently teamed up with community creator @WhoseTrade on six single-edition necklaces. Each sold within minutes, including the Ruby Pendant, acquired for 1,000,001 Robux (approximately $10,000), the highest initial Limited sale to date.

4. From head to toe, avatars enable experimentation with expression

While digital fashion is important to Gen Z users, people are also experimenting with other innovative ways of expression through their avatars.

One example of this is avatar makeup, which is already available in some community-created experiences. In addition, numerous brands—like Fenty Beauty, Maybelline, NARS, Givenchy Beauty, NYX, and L’Oreal—are now investing in meeting customers’ interest in it. 

And there’s real opportunity for them. According to our survey, more than a third of all respondents (35%) say it’s important to customize their avatar’s makeup daily or weekly, and the number rises to 51% for self-identifying female respondents. 

People are also increasingly customizing their avatar hair on Roblox. This year alone, users purchased more than 139 million hairstyles, up 20% over the year before, including more than 7.3 million people who bought five or more hairstyles on Roblox.

But self-expression doesn’t end there: Roblox users have increasingly been adopting emotes, and so far this year, 9.8 million Roblox users bought them, up 64% year over year. That’s something that Tommy Hilfiger took note of in introducing emotes into its Roblox digital fashion collection.

Users are also choosing fantastical auras that match their vibe, like a colorful variety available within Paris Hilton’s Slivingland.

And soon, Roblox users will be able to have expressive avatars featuring realistic emotions. That’s likely to be well-received by Gen Z users since 86% of survey respondents say it is at least somewhat important that their avatar is able to express emotions in order to feel fully represented in the metaverse. 

5. Authenticity drives self-expression in immersive spaces and positively impacts well-being

One striking finding from the survey is that most members of Gen Z strive to look good in the metaverse for themselves rather than for others. When choosing their avatar look, 62% say they care a lot that their avatar looks good to them as compared to 37% who say they care a lot that it looks good to others. 

And 40% of Gen Z feel it’s easier to present their authentic selves in the metaverse than in the physical world. Among the reasons cited: more “freedom of expression” and “creative options.” Further, people feel they “can be whoever we want” and that it’s “less judgemental” when they interact with others as avatars in immersive spaces.

In fact, our research showed:

• Twice as many respondents believe they are judged less on their looks in the metaverse than in the physical world, and;
• Respondents were 2.2 times more likely to say that expressing themselves in immersive spaces via their avatar feels better (“more me”) than posting 2D photos from the physical world on social media. 

Finally, respondents cited a positive impact on their mental well-being: 88% say expressing themselves in immersive spaces has likely helped them comfortably express themselves in the physical world. They note it helps build connections with others (29%), boosts confidence (24%), allows for true self-expression (21%), and helps improve mental health in other ways (25%).

A Universal Connector

Authentic self-expression is often described as a universal connector for people: by sharing who we truly are, we can make genuine connections. As Roblox continues building its platform and products for immersive communication and connection, we’re ensuring that people have the broadest set of opportunities to authentically express themselves. We’re excited to continue studying this space because as our research demonstrated, we know that when people have more control over the many elements they can choose to represent themselves in immersive 3D digital spaces, it can lead to positive impacts on their physical-world connections and well-being.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT HERE

* Methodology: The ‘2023 Digital Expression, Fashion & Beauty Trends’ report includes two complementary sets of data: 

• Behavioral data collected from the Roblox platform from January through September 2023.

• Self-reported survey data collected from 1,545 Gen Z users between the ages of 14 and 26, living in the United States (1027 respondents) and the United Kingdom (518). To obtain these responses, Roblox commissioned a nationally representative survey from Qualtrics fielded September 27-29, 2023. Included stats represent the full respondent sample given sentiment between the two markets (U.S. and UK) was largely similar. The sample has been balanced for gender in both markets using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for the U.S. and Office for National Statistics in the UK to reflect the demographic composition of these markets’ population in that age range. In the full report data is referenced as ‘2023 Roblox Self-Expression Survey.’

• For any additional clarifications or questions on the data please contact [email protected].

The post Insights From Our Latest Digital Expression, Fashion & Beauty Trends Report appeared first on Roblox Blog.