Virtual reality glasses has been all the hype in every tech tradeshow, each one better than the next. By putting on these glasses, you view a whole new world that is not actually there in front of you, and from all angles as if you did enter this new world. There was even an experiment conducted by Thorsten Wiedemann to live in virtual reality for 48 hours; that means sleeping and waking up in a different world with the help of the glasses. It may seem like rocket science, but virtual reality’s impact on commerce has come a lot further along than you might think.
Virtual reality in the market today
Especially when high-value products are concerned, customers enjoy taking a second look when considering what to buy. Avenue Imperial, a store carrying top fashion brands such as Karen Millen, Ted Baker and Jimmy Choo, has been teaming up with these brands to create a virtual reality experience of their famous flagship stores, enabling customers to indulge in these brand experiences from anywhere in the world.
Image source: Avenue Imperial
Products that are full of customisation opportunities also have a great potential with virtual reality. IKEA, for instance, has started the ball rolling with its virtual reality app, with which customers are able to experience different room concepts and alter the colour or items to construct their ideal room. They are also able provide an input on their height so they can view exactly how the furniture is in accordance to how tall they are, which does not easily come through in regular print catalogues.
Image source: IKEA
Image source: IKEA
Even the travel industry has a lot to offer. Instead of a regular brochure to entice customers to visit Mexico, the tourism board of Mexico has made use of virtual reality to create “experiential brochures” where customers take a helicopter ride in the virtual reality and gain a 360-degree view of Mexico from above.
But why virtual reality?
Apart from the novelty of putting on virtual reality glasses like in science fiction, virtual reality enables customers to grab items, obtain the information about the item that they need, customise its colour and add to cart – all with the glasses.
Ultimately, virtual reality gives customers the opportunity of experiencing brands in a whole new way, as customers get to walk around your store without physically having to be there, interact with your products and view them from any angle that they prefer. This little extra brings real-life experience into e-commerce, and customers are able to do all of these at the comfort of their own home. And this behaviour is set to rise exponentially.
E-commerce, m-commerce and v-commerce
How does the shopping experience in virtual reality, or v-commerce, cohabit with e-commerce and m-commerce in this new world of online shopping? Sceptics have thought the rise of virtual reality might bring all the efforts of perfecting the online store on the web and mobile to a nought, as customers now switch from the web to mobile and from mobile to virtual reality. This is not necessarily true.
In fact, according to a survey conducted in the US late last year, customers have been polled with their preferred virtual reality content category. Among the highest was travel and exploration, which enabled consumers to collect inspirational ideas before planning their trip.
Image source: Statistica
Virtual reality provides a better customer experience for those who are not at the brick and mortar store. It is predicted to be more of a planning and inspirational tool than a purchasing tool, as it allows customer to imagine, even better than before, what their ideal purchase would be like. It may be more often used as a first touch point to experience the brand and product before anything else. Therefore, it seems to be more complementary to the existing e-commerce and m-commerce than a threat.
What virtual reality means for marketing
It isn’t sufficient to acknowledge the rise of virtual reality – instead, what lies beneath it is fundamental: Customers today are getting more informed and have a greater need for control. They want to control their surroundings, their experiences and their purchases. They want to receive messages when they want to, and from the brands they are interested in. They can make swift decisions when the experience is right, but they can easily find another alternative if the experience isn’t.
This means one thing: businesses that have shunned omni-channel strategies may want to re-evaluate the needs of their customers – are their customers getting access to their products and services on the online or offline channels that they are often patronising? Are they losing sales because of the lack thereof?
And of course, businesses need to ensure that they have the supporting technology to analyse and optimise their activities, both online and offline!
