How Virtual Reality will re-define online shopping!!
VR-commerce is in nascent stage of experimentations, but has started to create a significant mark on retail industry. Retail experts are predicting that virtual reality will disrupt traditional purchase methods. Customers would be able to experience holidays, test drives, product demos and occasions before making actual purchase of products.
The most recent example is of North Face, and outdoor apparel company which transported customers to Yosemite National Park through virtual reality, as they were shopping at its stores. They utilised footage shots and 360 degree stereoscopic 3-D cameras to enhance storytelling around their products.
Buy+ helmed by Alibaba, a virtual reality shopping experience on its launch day witnessed 30,000 customers using the online VR feature. Within one week, the figure raised to 8 million users. These figures signify public enthusiasm to explore VR commerce.
Ikea is one of early adopters of VR, and is experimenting its applications since last four years. The furniture retailer recently offered VR enabled game to its customers in Dallas suburb to play pillow toss with a coffee table or have a tour with a panda inside a bamboo lamp. The customers received an immersive experience of examining furniture and learning about sustainability through VR for first time in any furniture store.
Retailers influence purchasing by utilising various methods such as playing high energy music in malls, which induces enthusiasm for higher purchase, vibrant colours creating ambience of prosperity to manipulate mind inducing higher spending behaviour. VR can act as another stimulant to influence purchase of products, which require higher investments such as expensive clothes and accessories, by providing virtual avatar of buyer wearing them virtually before even removing the product from its case or packaging.
For people who are averse to large crowd in malls, VR can bring entire mall inside their living rooms, to explore multiple stores and place orders of products virtually. The onset of 5G mobile technology will fuel additional demand for online 3-D content on mobile handsets influencing adoption of VR content online.
The dwindling number of brick and mortar stores in the US, has already raised concerns in minds of offline retailers. VR can act as catalyst for improving sales while competing against online retailers.
Virtual reality is not perfect yet, and the products that can be purchased through V-commerce are limited. Evolution of artificial intelligence will facilitate learning algorithms offering high degree of personal experience for customers in VR. The virtual departmental stores will offer customers seamless experience of products personalised just for them.