Korea's first virtual influencer, Rozy, has been featured in various advertisements since its launch in 2020. Courtesy of W Concept Korea

Global digital human avatar market forecast to reach $527 billion by 2030

By Lee Gyu-lee

The virtual world ― or metaverse ― has been emerging as the talk of the town, especially since the coronavirus pandemic has drastically curtailed in-person interactions and led people to utilize technology for digital interaction.

The global market for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) is estimated to have reached $30.7 billion in size last year, according to market and consumer data company Statista. It is projected to increase each year and rise to almost $300 billion in 2024.

As the technology advances to expand the virtual world, virtual humans are rising to become the latest major trend across various industries, from entertainment to retail.

According to the research and consulting firm Emergen Research, the global digital human avatar market was at $10.03 billion in 2020 and is forecast to reach $527.58 billion by 2030.

Experts say that digitalized humans are more welcomed than ever as digital-native MZ generation (a Korean term referring to Millennials and Generation Z) consumers, who have the most buying power, are willing to accept virtual experiences.

"The MZ generation now is much more familiar with the digital and virtual world, so they are likely to accept it more easily," Jung Duk-hyun, a pop culture critic, told The Korea Times. "Because they are more and more exposed to emerging metaverse-related technology and (digital) avatars, they become more susceptible to it."

In 2020, the local advertising company, Sidus Studio X, launched Korea's first virtual influencer, Rozy, which now has over 125,000 followers on Instagram. It created the 22-year-old virtual girl to have a look that combines faces considered to be favored by younger generations, using 3D modeling technology. "Rozy, who has the look of a real human being if you are not told she is a virtual influencer, will be the perfect model in this contactless era," the company said upon its debut.

The virtual influencer has appeared in advertisements for various companies, like an online shopping platform and a ramen brand, and made special appearances in TV series. She also debuted as a singer this February, releasing her first single, "Who Am I."

The company is estimated to have profited over 1 billion won ($821,000) through Rozy last year. It also rolled out three more virtual humans ― Ho, Heil, and Gon ― late last month, giving them a backstory as three siblings. The three debuted with the recent ad campaign for Volvo's new car.


Gaming company Smilegate's virtual avatar, Han YuA, also released a song last month, joining hands with CJ ENM. She also recently inked a deal with YG's subsidiary, YG KPlus, for further entertainment and social media influencer activities.

LG Electronics also debuted its own digital human, Reah Keem, at last year's CES as the presenter for its media event. The artificial intelligence-based virtual human, who the company introduced as a 23-year-old virtual musician, signed a deal with the local music label Mystic Story earlier this year to train and write songs for her singing career.

Lotte Home Shopping debuted its virtual influencer, Lucy, as a home shopping host last December for its Christmas special season. "We saw great potential in the virtual reality content market and have advanced our technology to develop Lucy, the first virtual model in our industry," the company said. "Our goal is to offer more realistic experiences with Lucy through existing platforms like TV and mobile, and a metaverse shopping platform we are planning to create."

Lee Eun-hee, a professor of consumer science at Inha University, noted that the companies' ability to create a virtual human with a look that is accepted favorably by consumers is one of the key reasons companies use virtual influencers for their ad campaigns.

"When (companies) develop virtual humans, they study and analyze faces and features, like outfits that consumers will find likable. So the outcome is made through such a process, and the consumers respond positively," Lee said, adding that this process helps to increase brand likability for a company.

"Also, unlike real celebrities, they don't carry any risks of getting involved in issues and scandals. And virtual humans can film in spots or motions that actual humans can't, which will offer unique scenes to consumers."

LG Electronics' virtual influencer, Reah Keem, left, signed a deal with the local music label, Mystic Story. Courtesy of LG Electronics

An avid social media user named Cho Hyeong-jun, 25, said that he feels the human-like virtual influences have many upsides in the fast-paced social media world.

"Seeing them through photos makes them look even more realistic, like they are no different than actual human influencers. And they can release photos with different concepts and in outfits that are on trend and update their feeds quickly," he said.

However, he said that he is not optimistic about whether the virtual influencer boom will last.

"I don't think they will completely replace humans. Frankly, there are plenty of celebrities (for ad campaigns). So I don't see any particular reason to use virtual humans as a model over, for example, a mukbang YouTuber for a food brand," he said. "For now, many find them interesting, out of curiosity, but I don't think that interest will last."

Lee also noted that the companies and virtual influencer-developing studios should take a careful approach for the trend to last.

"If the number of virtual influencers continues to grow to too many, consumers might grow tired of them. After all, the purpose of advertising is to stand out to consumers and draw positive responses," she said.

Shinhan Bank rolled out an AI banker to help customers with its service. Courtesy of Shinhan Bank

Aside from virtual influencers used as models for advertisements, other industries and the public sector are also adopting digital humans to use for their services and businesses.

Two banks, Shinhan Bank and NongHyup Bank, set up AI bankers to assist their customers with services. And KB Kookmin Bank announced this month that it will develop its own virtual human to be used in expanding the bank's brand communication strategy.

Seoul Metropolitan Government is planning to introduce a virtual intern to carry out duties as an official ambassador of its fashion-related programs.

However, pop culture critic Jung warned that people should watch out for possible crimes, as the digital human rapidly develops and expands its use across platforms.

"As (digital humans) come to be used as an avatar and are used to give people an identity in a digital world like the metaverse, there's a high possibility that they might be used for the wrong purposes, like substituting one's real identity to commit crimes," he said.

"There could also be issues with the personality rights to people's faces. They have rights over (the commercial use of) their identity and likeness. But as virtual avatars are made from the combination of several faces, there comes a gray area that might bring up ethical issues."