Retail is a sector in full transformation, which must face the competition of e-commerce, consumer demands, and environmental issues. To differentiate themselves, retail players must offer innovative, personalized and engaging customer experiences, which create connection and value. This is where the Immersive Virtual Space comes in, a concept that refers to a set of technologies that allow to create and live immersive experiences in virtual or augmented environments. The Immersive Virtual Space can offer retail players new opportunities to transform their relationship with their customers, and boost their performance. In this article, we will see how the Immersive Virtual Space can apply to retail, what are its advantages, and what are the concrete examples of its use.
What is the Immersive Virtual Space?
The Immersive Virtual Space is a term that encompasses a set of technologies that allow to create and live immersive experiences in virtual or augmented environments. These technologies include virtual reality (VR), which offers total immersion in a computer-generated world, augmented reality (AR), which overlays virtual elements on the real world, and mixed reality (MR), which combines the two by allowing to interact with physical and virtual objects. These technologies use devices such as helmets, glasses, gloves or sensors, which capture the movements, gestures, voice or gaze of the user, and return visual, auditory or haptic stimuli.
The Immersive Virtual Space offers the possibility to create personalized, interactive and multisensory experiences, which can stimulate the user’s imagination, emotion and engagement. The Immersive Virtual Space can also promote collaboration, communication and co-creation among users, by allowing them to share the same virtual space, or to connect through different virtual spaces.
How can Immersive Virtual Space be applied to retail?
Immersive Virtual Space can have multiple applications in the field of retail, touching all stages of the customer journey, from discovery to purchase, through testing, customization, and loyalty. Here are some examples of these applications:
Discovery: Immersive Virtual Space can allow customers to discover a brand’s products or services in a more immersive way, immersing them in a universe that reflects its identity, vision, and message. For example, the Balenciaga brand has created a VR video game, titled Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow, which presents its Fall-Winter 2021 collection, and invites players to explore a dystopian universe, populated by characters dressed in Balenciaga.
Testing: Immersive Virtual Space can allow customers to try a brand’s products in a more realistic way, by visualizing them in 3D, adjusting them to their morphology, or testing them in different contexts. For example, the Nike brand has developed an AR application, which allows users to scan their feet, and find the ideal size for their shoes.
Customization: Immersive Virtual Space can allow customers to customize a brand’s products in a more creative way, using digital creation or modification tools, which offer them more choices, freedom, and fun. For example, the Gucci brand has launched a VR platform, which allows users to create their own handbags, choosing from thousands of combinations of colors, patterns, materials, and accessories.
Purchase: Immersive Virtual Space can allow customers to purchase a brand’s products in a simpler, faster, and more secure way, using digital payment methods, such as cryptocurrencies or NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), unique and traceable digital tokens, which guarantee the ownership and authenticity of digital products. For example, The Fabricant label creates digital clothes, which are sold as NFTs.
Loyalty: Immersive Virtual Space can allow customers to build loyalty to a brand in a more sustainable way, by offering them experiences that involve, listen to, and value them. For example, the Sephora brand has created a virtual community, which allows users to share their looks, their advice, and their opinions on beauty products, and to participate in exclusive events.
What are the advantages of Immersive Virtual Space for retail?
Immersive Virtual Space offers numerous advantages for retail, both creatively, economically, socially, and environmentally. Here are some examples of these advantages:
Creativity: Immersive Virtual Space allows retail players to differentiate themselves from the competition by offering experiences that are out of the ordinary and reflect their identity, vision, and message. Immersive Virtual Space also allows customers to have experiences that stimulate their imagination, emotion, and engagement.
Performance: Immersive Virtual Space allows retail players to boost their visibility, reputation, and competitiveness on the web. Immersive Virtual Space also allows customers to discover, try, customize, and purchase a brand’s products in a more immersive and convincing way.
Proximity: Immersive Virtual Space allows retail players to strengthen their connection with their customers by offering experiences that involve, listen to, and value them. Immersive Virtual Space also allows customers to share, collaborate, and co-create with the brand or with other customers, connecting them through common or different immersive virtual spaces.
Sustainability: Immersive Virtual Space allows retail players to reduce their environmental impact by limiting the costs, waste, and carbon emissions associated with product production and transportation. Immersive Virtual Space also raises customer awareness of ecological issues by showing them the consequences of their consumption choices and offering them more responsible alternatives.