Building Retail VR Experiences Becomes Easier, Less Costly As Use Cases Expand
By Andrew Woodberry, InstaVR
Virtual Reality (VR) gets plenty of headlines and bullish growth projections. For retailers, the primary question remains: how can this technology be incorporated into the buying process, at a reasonable price point, and actually drive purchases? The good news for retailers is that advances in technology now allow companies to create VR quickly in-house, at a fraction of what it cost just a few years ago.
The Zuo Modern Example
Take for example Oakland, Calif.-based furniture designer Zuo Modern. As part of the design process, they already had created high-quality CGI renders of their various furniture and lighting products. For Market shows in Las Vegas and Atlanta, they created virtual CGI home tours, full of Zuo Modern offerings, each with a virtual price tag that, when engaged with, would open a web page containing more product info and specs. The sales team for Zuo could stand by and act as advisers, while show visitors viewed the large virtual inventory on their own, using oversized Samsung tablets.
The benefits of using VR were many. The tablets generated conversations by capturing the attention of potential buyers walking by; the VR experiences were interactive/memorable; it allowed Zuo Modern to showcase a much broader range of products than they could in the physical location; and it gave them potential analytical feedback on which products garnered the most interest.
The investment in creating VR was very reasonable. Zuo already had the high-quality CGI renders, but retailers without those can easily purchase a 360-degree camera for under $1K to take high-quality photos. Our web-based subscription software they used was all drag-and-drop, with no coding required, meaning they could do the whole project in-house. And for display, there are many reasonably priced VR headsets on the market, or you can go headset-free and just use oversized tablets like the iPad Pro. Plus you can publish the same VR app to a web site for online and mobile audiences.
Smart Uses Of VR In Retail
There are many use cases for VR in retail, but here are the more popular ones we’ve been seeing recently:
Extending Inventory: Physical retail space is obviously getting more expensive. For products not popular enough to warrant showroom space, VR provides a great alternative. Buyers can be immersed into a VR headset, and have a valuable visual and auditory experience, discovering products that can’t be accessed physically in the retailer.
Before & After VR Experiences: The benefits of some purchases are simply harder to showcase in the confines of a retail space. For instance, lighting company Premise LED uses VR to show before-and-afters of lighting installs at client locations. Having the prospective buyer drive to the existing client isn’t feasible. But virtually immersing them in the lighting situation before and after install gives a great representation of the benefits of purchasing updated lighting.
Viewing Products in Different Environments: Many purchases are meant to be used outdoors or for specific occasions. It’s hard to get a read on the object in a four-walled environment. VR can take you anywhere — meaning you can virtually feel what it’s like to drive a boat or see what a home addition would look like. You can quickly test out potential purchases in rapid succession using VR, saving time during the buying process.
Why Invest In VR Now?
As mentioned, thanks to new technology anyone can create VR now. Using the technology sooner rather than later will give you a leg up on the competition. VR helps companies stand out as tech-forward, it helps facilitate the buying process by presenting products in an immersive way, and it extends marketable inventory significantly beyond that which can be showcased in a physical environment. Don’t let perceptions of the technology scare you — it’s likely much more affordable and faster to create than your initial expectations.
Andrew Woodberry is the Head of Sales & Marketing at InstaVR, a web-based VR authoring, publishing, and analysis solution. Launched in early 2016, over 30,000 companies and individuals use InstaVR to create engaging VR experiences for all the major VR platforms.