Many are familiar with the concept of virtual reality, but companies like Kabuki, Dreamscape Immersive, and Aser Media have been experimenting with break-through technology that will set the pipeline for the future of the sector.
A recent Timetrade study that found that 70% of U.S. millennials are willing to pay more for products and services that are connected to a highly personalized in-store experience. Attention VR investors: you made the right decision. About a year ago, Alibaba experimented with VR Shopping, where users could visit retailers via their VR headset. However, the experience failed to capture a humanized experience. Say you walk into a store in virtual reality and there's nobody else in the store. It'd be just like online shopping; nobody to interact with. The companies I have previously mentioned, in one way or another, have worked with XR technology, or "Crossed- Realities." In XR, one can physically interact with other people across virtual reality realms, even in different locations. For retail in particular, this would enable things like virtual reality malls, where people could go to malls in a virtual space, even if they aren't in physically in that space. Say you had plans to go to the mall with your friend but were too pressed for time, you could both hop on your VR headset and visit that mall (which. ideally, would be represented as an identical in-store layout) together, and go on your shopping experience while being able to talk to and see each other.
This technology could be used in so many different ways. Studies show that millennials fear commitment and spend a lot of their money on the "now." Skeptical about buying your festival tickets? Trying a new airline for the first time? Trying to impress your date and want to see the inside of the restaurant beforehand? Through XR, you'd be able to walk around and explore the venue, airplane, or restaurant just as if you were physically there. Hell, what if you wanted to go to a museum with your family but it was -3 degrees outside and didn't want to leave the house? This technology has huge potential to drive consumers' decision making through eliminating the fear of commitment, saving time, and providing a new form ultimate convenience. Who knows, in 50 years, maybe all businesses will need an XR experience to compete.