Modern consumers demand interactive, personalized, life-like experiences. And VR shopping ideally matches this description.
“There are as many applications for VR as you can think of; it’s restricted by your imagination.”
John Goddard, Head of Marketing at HTC Vive.
Famous brands have already jumped on the bandwagon.
- Hugo Boss partnered with Reactive Reality to create personalized avatars for customers to try on clothes in VR.
- IKEA developed The Place App, which uses AR to place furniture into customers’ homes.
- Tommy Hilfiger, Levi’s, Dior, and Coach opened the doors of their virtual stores created by a VR platform Obsess.
But VR shopping isn’t just for the big players. Here’s how you can leverage its potential for your store.
How does VR improve the shopping experience?
VR technology has many use cases in the e-commerce realm.
For example, it allows you to try on products in 3D and customize them in real time.
Personalized avatars that mimic your look and exact measurements help to find the best fit and style.
Some brands even offer gamified experiences by letting users solve quizzes and get rewards.
Finally, you can go shopping with your loved ones without leaving your home. Collaborative shopping lets you chat with other customers and store staff or join virtual events.
But every tech has challenges.
Firstly, the technology requires thought-through interface design. The UI must be intuitive and smooth for a realistic experience.
Secondly, users need high-end hardware because VR puts a strain on the GPU and CPU. Not everyone has access to it, so stores shouldn’t neglect old-school practices (make sure your website has high-quality images and product descriptions!).
Thirdly, VR shopping might raise security concerns. It involves collecting and processing sensitive personal data, such as biometric information and facial expressions.
Lastly, VR shopping requires integration with existing e-commerce systems for payment gateways, delivery, inventory management, and customer support.
How to adopt VR the right way.
Keeping up with the times is vital. Your customers will thank you for incorporating VR technology into your store, but only if you do it correctly.
Choose the right product and platform.
Opt for cloud-based platforms for scalability. For example, try out WebVR or Shopify VR.
As a rule of thumb, the best products for VR shopping are footwear, clothing, furniture, accessories, and makeup.
Consider the use cases.
Suppose that you’re selling luxury clothing aimed at elderly people. This target audience might not appreciate gamified experiences the same way as young consumers would.
On the other hand, an interactive experience through a personalized avatar is ideal for a sneaker store targeting teenagers.
Use user-centric and inclusive design principles.
User-centric design focuses on the user’s goals, needs, and expectations.
Inclusive design ensures that a VR shopping solution is not only usable, but also equitable and empowering for all users, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, cultures, or identities.
Your store must have clear navigation and instructions to help users orient in VR environments.
Provide your customers with multiple options for interaction, such as voice, gesture, or controller.
Avoid using stereotypical images of cultures, genders, or races for VR avatars.
Lastly, use realistic and high-quality graphics, sounds, and haptics to create immersive and engaging VR shopping experiences.
Security first.
Address security concerns before they arise.
Use encryption and authentication to protect the data transmission and storage between the VR devices and the store servers.
Implement ethical and transparent data collection and privacy policies to inform users about what data is collected, how it is used, and with whom it is shared.
Most importantly, test your VR shopping solution with real users and incorporate their feedback. This helps spot and fix security and usability issues that affect the UX.
The bottom line.
VR is an entirely new medium of communicating with your target customer.
As everything new, it involves some trial and error and demands caution.
That’s why we advise trusting it to professionals.
Get in touch to discuss your VR shopping solution.
Modern consumers demand interactive, personalized, life-like experiences. And VR shopping ideally matches this description.
“There are as many applications for VR as you can think of; it’s restricted by your imagination.”
John Goddard, Head of Marketing at HTC Vive.
Famous brands have already jumped on the bandwagon.
- Hugo Boss partnered with Reactive Reality to create personalized avatars for customers to try on clothes in VR.
- IKEA developed The Place App, which uses AR to place furniture into customers’ homes.
- Tommy Hilfiger, Levi’s, Dior, and Coach opened the doors of their virtual stores created by a VR platform Obsess.
But VR shopping isn’t just for the big players. Here’s how you can leverage its potential for your store.
How does VR improve the shopping experience?
VR technology has many use cases in the e-commerce realm.
For example, it allows you to try on products in 3D and customize them in real time.
Personalized avatars that mimic your look and exact measurements help to find the best fit and style.
Some brands even offer gamified experiences by letting users solve quizzes and get rewards.
Finally, you can go shopping with your loved ones without leaving your home. Collaborative shopping lets you chat with other customers and store staff or join virtual events.
But every tech has challenges.
Firstly, the technology requires thought-through interface design. The UI must be intuitive and smooth for a realistic experience.
Secondly, users need high-end hardware because VR puts a strain on the GPU and CPU. Not everyone has access to it, so stores shouldn’t neglect old-school practices (make sure your website has high-quality images and product descriptions!).
Thirdly, VR shopping might raise security concerns. It involves collecting and processing sensitive personal data, such as biometric information and facial expressions.
Lastly, VR shopping requires integration with existing e-commerce systems for payment gateways, delivery, inventory management, and customer support.
How to adopt VR the right way.
Keeping up with the times is vital. Your customers will thank you for incorporating VR technology into your store, but only if you do it correctly.
Choose the right product and platform.
Opt for cloud-based platforms for scalability. For example, try out WebVR or Shopify VR.
As a rule of thumb, the best products for VR shopping are footwear, clothing, furniture, accessories, and makeup.
Consider the use cases.
Suppose that you’re selling luxury clothing aimed at elderly people. This target audience might not appreciate gamified experiences the same way as young consumers would.
On the other hand, an interactive experience through a personalized avatar is ideal for a sneaker store targeting teenagers.
Use user-centric and inclusive design principles.
User-centric design focuses on the user’s goals, needs, and expectations.
Inclusive design ensures that a VR shopping solution is not only usable, but also equitable and empowering for all users, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, cultures, or identities.
Your store must have clear navigation and instructions to help users orient in VR environments.
Provide your customers with multiple options for interaction, such as voice, gesture, or controller.
Avoid using stereotypical images of cultures, genders, or races for VR avatars.
Lastly, use realistic and high-quality graphics, sounds, and haptics to create immersive and engaging VR shopping experiences.
Security first.
Address security concerns before they arise.
Use encryption and authentication to protect the data transmission and storage between the VR devices and the store servers.
Implement ethical and transparent data collection and privacy policies to inform users about what data is collected, how it is used, and with whom it is shared.
Most importantly, test your VR shopping solution with real users and incorporate their feedback. This helps spot and fix security and usability issues that affect the UX.
The bottom line.
VR is an entirely new medium of communicating with your target customer.
As everything new, it involves some trial and error and demands caution.
That’s why we advise trusting it to professionals.
Get in touch to discuss your VR shopping solution.