Virtual reality for online shopping

Published on: July 7, 2017 / Update from: October 27, 2021 - Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

Virtual e-commerce experience, here when buying a car (Source: Volvo)

Interactive e-commerce experience

Virtual reality technologies are on the rise all over the country and are finding their way into more and more areas of our digital and therefore also real lives. Whether for private fun, gaming, animated learning and explaining processes or the interactive presentation of products: As technical developments advance, VR and AR will become our constant companions in the near future - also in e-commerce.

With the growing popularity of virtual and augmented reality, more and more companies are now asking themselves what role these technologies will play in their online presence in the near future. The virtual worlds have a particularly strong impact on the e-commerce business, as VR and AR offer completely new presentation and sales opportunities. Virtual reality is still used by most companies primarily as a marketing tool. The use of VR devices at trade fairs now a widespread means of presenting one's own products to visitors in a more clear and entertaining way.

In comparison, the e-commerce sector is still lagging behind. This is partly due to the fact that many offers are simply less suitable for the new technology. For consumer goods, books or white goods, VR technologies can hardly be found on retailers' websites. However, the low distribution may also be due to the fact that perhaps there is simply a lack of a brilliant idea for presenting these articles. The use of virtual reality components becomes much more exciting and promising when it comes to products or services that are associated with topics from entertainment, fashion, lifestyle or travel.

Virtual worlds for online shopping

In e-commerce, virtual reality offers the opportunity to at least partially compensate for a major disadvantage compared to stationary retail: the distance between online customers and the product. Virtual reality can reduce this and offer consumers a quasi-real shopping experience. This is also the reason why some of the large online retailers are already experimenting with the technology or are already using it.

Suppliers of fashion and entertainment items in particular can benefit from the integration of VR elements, as they can use them to bring the online sale of their goods closer to the shopping experience in a traditional store. A very promising measure, because surveys show that potential customers reward such efforts. According to this, over fifty percent of Germans are interested in virtual reality solutions in the shopping sector.

Brands like North Face by sending their customers on a virtual journey with VR image films. But that's not enough, because especially in the fashion sector, many customers feel the need to try on the goods or at least take a closer look at them. This is difficult to achieve with product photos, no matter how detailed they are. Virtual reality can provide a good balance here by creating virtual dressing rooms. This allows customers to better test the selected items online. Large e-commerce companies such as Otto , Zalando and Adidas are already experimenting with the system in which customers can try on items of clothing with the help of VR and then view them in a 360-degree view. Ideally, the item that has been examined so intensively is purchased immediately, so that the retailer only has to retrieve it from the warehouse and ship it to the customer.

The digital form of presentation has also already arrived in the technology industry. Since the beginning of December 2016, the Saturn virtual reality shopping in selected branches using Microsoft's HoloLens . As you tour the store, you will be shown images, videos and additional information about the Xbox and Co. devices on display.

E-commerce worlds in virtual shops

Online shopping with a VR set (Source: Malvina Media)

Providers go one step further by setting up entire virtual stores. Visitors navigate through the online shop using VR glasses like they would through a traditional brick-and-mortar store. Compared to conventional online shops, retailers have many more options for cross-selling and up-selling, as they can present the items that suit the customer next to each other much more clearly. The sorting of suitable items is done by algorithms that predict the customer's demand based on the customer journey and previous purchases. In this way, the individual customer is always presented with the items that have the highest chance of being sold.

Amazon , the Seattle-based e-commerce giant, has long recognized the potential of VR for e-commerce and is rumored to be planning to build a virtual reality platform . When it comes to the use of VR, competitor Ebay already one step further: In Australia, the Internet company opened a virtual department store . Thanks to the integrated Sight Search technology, customers can focus on the products with their eyes, select them, examine them or add them directly to the shopping cart. The shop includes more than 12,500 items, with the 100 best-selling products in each category even displayed in 3D form. With the help of various personalization features, it is intended to ensure that every customer's personal taste is optimally met, which makes optimal individual adjustment of the product range possible for every virtual visit.

Combination of VR and interaction in a modern online shop

The Japanese online retailer Kabuki is expected to expand its online shop to include a virtual reality area including integrated voice chat in 2017. Here, customers can shop on offer using a VR headset using an app and exchange items with friends using the chat function. Just like in a brick-and-mortar store, customers should be able to consult with each other before making a purchase and add additional items to their selection. This social interaction is intended to make it easier for customers to decide on a specific product.

Sportswear provider Moosejaw an additional dash of entertainment into play, offering customers virtual outdoor activities in its VR app. On various courses there are always new products for visitors to discover or quiz questions to answer and win something. By adding the gaming element, the company hopes to increase customer relationships and communication and increase sales.

Car trading with many VR possibilities

VR in use (Source: Volvo)

Car suppliers are ideal for purchasing using VR. Why go to a car dealership when you can experience all the models in all imaginable colors and equipment variants realistically from home using VR glasses and configure your desired model straight away? Volvo is particularly progressive in this regard and offers an app with which customers can go on a virtual tour of discovery. The American start-up Vroom is going in the same direction and will in future sell used cars via virtual showrooms , including the option of virtual test drives. Instead of visiting endless dealers, potential buyers can test drive up to five different cars within minutes. And all of this from the comfort of your own home.

Conclusion

Sooner or later, virtual reality will become established in many e-commerce segments. The main reason for this is the growing range of VR hardware. They don't necessarily have to be offers made for Microsoft's high-priced HoloLens or Facebook's Oculus Rift, whose sales success is limited due to the price. But as cheaper solutions become more widespread, the use and demand for online shopping will increase rapidly.

Due to the complexity of the technology and the diverse areas of application, beginners should consult with experts who can assist them with virtual appearances. It is also important that web retailers always keep in mind that their product range is suitable for virtual presentation and that the target group can be reached using this technology. If both are true, then virtual reality makes online shopping a completely new experience for the user. The positive consequence for the retailer: KPIs such as the conversion rate will increase, while undesirable processes such as abandoned purchases, forgotten shopping carts and returns are minimized.