March 28, 2024 2:57 PM

Virtual Reality at the service of mass retail

Large retailers are gradually embracing the introduction of technology into their stores. Supermarkets are becoming connected markets, building the shopping experiences of the future. Already beginning to succumb to the charm and advantages of technology many are even adopting Virtual Reality. Faced with Amazon, and other competitors, the big retailers have not yet said their last word!

/ Published 3 years ago

How soon will retail switch to Virtual Reality for product display?
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After e-commerce comes the concept of v-commerce (Virtual Reality Commerce)! Major retail chains are bringing Virtual Reality (VR) into their stores to keep up with the e-commerce players who are gaining more and more ground. Despite stiff competition with Amazon, Alibaba and other companies (like Canada’s own Shopify), the big retailers have not yet said their last word! They are angle to have virtual realities help save their physical stores.

One objective is to optimize the sales area of the stores in order to hold the customers attention and interest. This saves considerable time and energy, and as a result, costs. In addition, Virtual Reality can be an effective way to measure consumer behavior on supermarket shelves, and even draw in the customers in the first place!

Supermarkets are entering the technological age

Large retailers are gradually crafting the introduction of technology into their stores. This technological revolution in the retail world is coming slowly but surely. Supermarkets are becoming connected markets, the supermarkets of the future. Some are already beginning to succumb to the charm of technology and are adopting new ways of doing things.

For example, in addition to the installation of electronic kiosks and screens to display the most interesting offers (a technique which has become quite common), the customer now has various means of payment at his disposal like using the mobile application specific to the store in question. For its part, the use of augmented reality (AR) is already a hot topic in the industry. And brands such as Zara or Ikea have adopted it and now offer their customers interesting immersion possibilities.

Virtual Reality inevitably integrated in the supermarkets of the future?

The apps of large retailers are being developed to integrate VR into their operating methods. This could help the customer to more effectively identify the products they are looking for, or even the products they should avoid purchasing (due to any allergies, or simply over a matter of taste). A Canadian company, named CGI, has already made remarkable progress in this direction. The multinational company specializing in information technology has set up shop in France (where it has 23 branches). It has developed innovative solutions for interacting with the client as soon as they come across a desirable, or even undesirable, product.

Virtual Reality must reinvent itself for stores

Everybody agrees that virtual reality presents opportunities that cannot be ignored in the retail world. However, the e-commerce pioneers have understood this as well and offer experiences, combining trying and buying online, without leaving home.

For their part, retail chains are still struggling to find well-established solutions to share conclusive functionalities with the general public. They are imagining 100% virtual shops to offer the customer a better shopping experience. These could also allow them to explore other possibilities in terms of inventory and space management.

XRApplied to develop Virtual Reality solutions for the retail sector?

At the moment, VR is a solution used in the retail sector primarily just to create events and get interest or ‘feet in the door’. Inviting the customer to live a virtual experience, thanks to VR tech, is a concept increasingly used to attract customers. Retailers are considering accentuating this with the implementation of VR rooms in their spaces.

Companies like XRApplied are working hard to provide these new features to businesses of all sizes and in all industries. SMEs in the distribution sector approve of a growing need in the VR field and XRApplied is committed to equipping them for the adventure. XRApplied’s solutions are designed to be affordable for SMEs as well as for the large juggernauts of the retail industry.

In a world that is becoming more and more de-materialized, the adoption of this kind of technology offers significant opportunities. The effort made by retailers to adapt to new technologies could lead them to greater success. Virtual reality, and companies like XRApplied could very well be the vectors for that success.

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(Image presented Alexas_Fotos by Pixabay)

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