The Future of Behavioural Research: How Virtual Reality is Changing the Game

Okay folks, before you start picturing yourself as virtual CEO inside a virtual world, I want to focus on immediate reasons why businesses should be paying attention to virtual reality (VR). Sure, the metaverse is fun to think about, but let's not let Mark Zuckerberg's heavily-funded vision distract from the fact that VR can have a significant impact on businesses. So let's put any metaverse-type topics on the back burner for now and talk about the immediate benefits, deal?

As executives and business leaders, I believe we can all agree that access to behavioural data and understanding people (i.e. customers, users, employees, channel partners, etc.), their needs, values, and behaviours are critical success factors in sustaining a successful business. In addition, the behavioural data we acquire must be as up-to-date, relevant, and reliable as possible. Well, as much as our budgets and infrastructure will permit, of course.?

Businesses gather information from a variety of sources such as primary, secondary, and tertiary data collection methods including but not limited to surveys, tracking of transactions, interviews, focus groups, and more. These traditional forms of market research have proven to be effective, however, VR has emerged as a legitimate technology capable of capturing deeper levels of data compared to traditional market research methods, such as:

1. Survey data (collecting opinions, preferences, beliefs, etc.)
2. Spatial data (positions and orientations of objects)
3. Kinesthetic data (physical Movements and actions)
4. Haptic data (tactile sensations experienced by users within a virtual environment)
5. Audio data (sound and speech)
6. Visual data (visual appearance of objects, including their colours, textures, and lighting)
7. Behavioural data (actions and interactions, including movements, gaze, and manipulation of objects)
8. Emotional data (state of users including physiological signals such as heart rate, sweat, and facial expression)
9. Physiological data (information about the body's internal responses, including heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, skin conductance, and temperature)
10. Performance data (performance in a simulation, such as time to complete a task, accuracy of responses, or score)

The CapGemini report, “Augmented and Virtual Reality in Operations: A guide for investment” has found that 82% of companies currently implementing AR/VR say the benefits are either meeting or exceeding their expectations.?

According to AstuteAnalytica, the global enterprise augmented reality and virtual reality market is projected to reach a value of $364.9 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 39.2% during the forecast period, 2022–2030. Virtual reality is starting to gain traction in many industries such as gaming, healthcare, manufacturing, training and education.

I believe market and behavioural research will be included in this growth. However, there are currently many executives and business leaders who are not aware of the true value and benefits of this immersive technology in the context of market and behavioural research. It’s not just for gaming.

The Opportunity

In today's highly competitive landscape, understanding your customers is more important than ever. By gaining a deeper understanding of their needs and behaviours, businesses can create more targeted and effective marketing campaigns, improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, and ultimately drive growth and success. With the vast amount of data available today, utilizing VR to gain insights into understanding people, allows for more effective decision-making and improved business outcomes.?

Written by Emile McLean

Additional notes

• In many cases, VR can be a more cost-effective method of research. I'll share some data on the cost benefits in a future post (follow me on LinkedIn to receive the notification).
• Follow SilicoLabs - Capture Behaviour to learn more about using interactive 3D, VR and AR experiences to capture human and AI behaviour.

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