Are We Ready to Embrace Immersive Technology in Retail?

Immersive technology is a game changer and elevates user-experiences to an elevated plane with richer, connected, and visual experiences that mimics real world. The concept of immersing oneself in stimulating environments is the next glass ceiling to shatter, to attain digital nirvana. This technology will change the way we currently conduct business, study and socialise. The metaverse, which is the newest kid in the extended reality (XR) industry — that includes virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR), involving both virtual and physical spaces — is expected to grow rapidly. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 15% of people will spend at least an hour a day in the metaverse. That’s massive!

The retail sector underwent a major upheaval during the pandemic, with store closures driving customers towards digital shopping. Though online commerce has been a significant part of the customer’s life, there grew a need for a seamless experience providing more than convenience. Customers began demanding personalized and contextually relevant experiences that would essentially put them at the center giving them something that was uniquely theirs. To meet these demands, the retail industry turned to immersive and edge technologies, like AR/VR, 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), to engage with a wider audience, improve retention and reduce returns.

Becoming (Met)averse to Shopping

Since the launch of the metaverse, the retail industry is gearing to completely reimagine the online shopping experience. VR will play a great role in helping brands create a visually stimulating environment within the metaverse. This will very closely replicate the customer’s unique real-world retail experiences, thereby encouraging purchase decisions.

Customers can enjoy a completely immersive technology experience by building virtual storefronts and selling branded digital products. This provides a 3D environment that can allow them to do a slew of exciting things from the comfort of their homes, such as trying on items before purchasing them, applying cosmetics virtually, designing complete outfits on their digital avatars and deciding what looks best on them, etc.

The best part about shopping in the metaverse will be the lack of geographical boundaries. Customers can access any store in any part of the world without having to worry about the added costs of being there physically.

Designing Interconnected CX

We have already seen how organisations with a seamless omnichannel CX have better customer retention. According to the “2021 State of the Connected Consumer Report” by Salesforce, 76% of customers want to use different channels to interact with brands based on the context of their needs or queries. In the metaverse, organisations will have the golden opportunity to connect and engage with customers on a global scale. They will have access to real-time data collected during “virtual dressing” that will provide insights into the customer’s likes and dislikes. This data can be utilised to better understand customer trends.

The metaverse also can provide organisations the flexibility to be as futuristic with their CX goals as required. Every organisation will have the opportunity to envision and direct experiences, driving customer loyalty and other long-term outcomes.

How Far into the Future is This Reality?

The concept of metaverse has snowballed into a massive phenomenon and the world seems to be ready to experience life in 3D. While it still may be early days, metaverse collaborations have reportedly achieved higher levels of engagements.

Emerging and immersive technology have already redefined the concepts of online and physical shopping. To prepare for this latest disruption, business leaders will fare well to set an outline as to how they can enrich the customer experience and create virtual-only products and services to grow the business. Retail leaders must perfect a decentralized and interoperable structure capable of interacting with whichever extended reality (XR) platform customer’s favor. They must also address any and all challenges relating to cybersecurity, privacy, regulations and fraud protection. For metaverse to become a working reality, there may still be time. The trick would be to get the customers on board while the technology is moving from strength to strength.  We are gearing towards an immersive 3D reality enabling a richer and connected experience.

--By Chander Damodaran, Managing Director & Chief Technology Officer, Brillio

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