Using Virtual Reality in E-Commerce Industry

Virtual reality (VR), also known as Immersive multimedia or Computer-simulated reality combines technology with experience to design absolute immersive environments. This technology has been adapted by many industries owing to its enormous marketing potential so much so that majority of the marketing professionals are quickly realising its immense capability in enhancing the customer’s shopping experience.

VR in eCommerce is seemingly becoming an important marketing tool for providing customer service and organizing live events. VR in eCommerce isn’t just a trend but something that’s really taking off and should be seriously considered by online sellers. VR and eCommerce are essentially real-world experiences that have been digitally replicated. As an e-commerce retailer, it is important that you are aware of the benefits of using virtual reality as a marketing tool.

As a matter of fact, many online sellers are successfully using VR in eCommerce as a part of their integrated marketing strategies. In an age, where quality content is one of the driving forces behind lead generation, Virtual reality in eCommerce is a sure-fire way of creating a memorable customer experience. VR in eCommerce could redefine the shopping experience, allowing you to create immersive experiences that re-enact the physical shopping journey. This has the potential to completely change the way we shop.

Benefits of using Virtual reality for Business:

1.VR in eCommerce creates rich, memorable and immersive customer experiences which can do wonders in terms of conversion rates.

2.VR in eCommerce is a social media goldmine for brand awareness. Customers talk about you and share their experiences on the social media.

3. Virtual Reality allows you to have 360-degree view of the product. It gives the user a much better perspective of what they’re buying by seeing the product from all the angles before making the purchase.

4. VR in eCommerce is a simple to demonstrate a product’s worth by showing rather than telling, and this can be extra helpful in demoing complex products. This is essentially helping in connecting with people who speak different languages.

According to a survey report, 70% of customers are more likely to do business with you again if they’re satisfied with the way issues are resolved. Therefore, customer complaints are an excellent opportunity to prove your worth and win the loyalty of existing customers. They know that if they come to you with a problem you can fix it, and all the better if you do it quickly. Troubleshooting customer issues has been a problem for support staff who rely heavily on customers’ descriptions. The customer may have a poor understanding of the problem and the support staff may have to rely on a poor description.

Now, let’s have a look at how VR comes into rescue in such a situation.

Customer support teams may take advantage of the 360 degree perspective that VR offers to ease the frustration for both customers and team members. Having this kind of visual aid could help customers provide a more effective explanation of the problem, and could also work the other way, allowing the support staff to present how they are resolving the issue to the customer. This can also be a great learning opportunity, allowing the customer to see exactly how to fix the problem themselves, reducing the likelihood of them calling again with the same issue.

VR in eCommerce is a part of a growing number of technologies that help solve the fundamental challenge in eCommerce; to recreate the physical and emotional feelings of brick-and-mortar online. Thanks to more cost effective solutions, like Google Cardboard, that can turn smartphones into headsets, and with the price of high-end devices like Oculus Rift gradually becoming more affordable, we can expect VR making more changes to the landscape of eCommerce within the next few years.