While e-commerce has revolutionized how many goods are sold, offering customers greater comfort and forcing physical stores to change their business model completely, it is still far from a perfect experience.
The fact is that e-commerce has not entirely replaced the physical store because there are certain things that consumers do not want to buy online. Who would buy a new car or even a house online without ever seeing it in the real world?
But thanks to advances in 3D technology, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality (VR), all of that will change – and that future is nearer than you think. Most smartphones will be equipped with VR features in the next two years, perhaps even sooner, and VR headsets such as Oculus are becoming more affordable.
This means that future-oriented e-commerce players will be able to use VR to create entirely new experiences, modify their relationship with customers, and allow the sale of goods never imagined possible via online channels.
Augmented reality systems work best inside a store, for example, View-in-a-room Augmented Reality feature helps shoppers to preview how their intended purchase looks in their home environment. VR is something people can enjoy in their own homes and other safe spaces. And while it’s excellent, when buying products online, to get a much more realistic experience, to have a better idea of what a product looks like and its actual physical dimensions, VR can bring much more to e-commerce.
Building social communities
Brands continually seek to build social communities by broadcasting content, contests, etc. through channels like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest … Although it increases engagement between each customer and the brand, it doesn’t create a real community, where customers are encouraged to interact.VR will fill the gap here-by, allowing real people to interact in virtual worlds such as shopping environments. People can unite around their shared interest in a brand or a range of products, share tips, and anecdotes, and feel like part of a real community.
These communities can then be used by marketers to create a buzz around the launch of new products – imagine virtual crowds of people outside a virtual store, eagerly awaiting the start of the latest trendy gadget
Adaptation to the real-world experience
VR to market and present a product in the best possible way
With VR, you can create an incredibly impressive 3D environment to display your products – imagine a cathedral, with beams of light shining through stained glass, and on a podium in front of you, a diamond necklace or ring. You don’t need to limit yourself to building a representation of an actual physical store in your virtual sales space – you don’t even have to be limited by physics. Your imagination is the only thing that defines you. So, what are you waiting for?? Just contact CGTraders.
E-commerce based on VR for all
Smartphone technology is continually evolving, and it will only take a few years before each device is compatible with VR. The price of specialized equipment is continuously falling and, thanks to the gaming industry, it is likely to be more and more present in homes shortly. On the retail side, the big brands will not be the only ones who can afford to create these virtual environments. Indeed, third-party technology platform providers will be able to help even small e-commerce businesses create stores for their customers – they won’t have to make significant investments in infrastructure and internal expertise to reach.
All traders should think about a VR strategy now, even if they will not execute it in the immediate future. Each e-commerce brand has the potential to experience something similar to the launch of the new iPhone by using VR only. The worst thing to do would be to just view VR as something new, a bonus, something that is not strictly necessary. The point is, VR will open up a whole new world of possibilities for marketers – new product categories, new customer experiences, new additional sales opportunities – and so they should be thinking about pushing the envelope. What is technically possible in VR changes all the time, so be ambitious, don’t skimp on graphics. Create the most breathtaking virtual environment possible!
