Retail has always been on the prowl to provide customers with experiences that tingle their senses and let them feel the product they want to buy. Stores offer a great customer experience with their carefully curated layouts and well-trained staff, but it’s not enough anymore. The industry is looking for ways to push itself forward and bring something new and exciting to the table.
This is where the Metaverse comes in. Technology has always been a part of retail and will continue to do so. With the advent of technology, we saw the evolution of online shopping, which was a great leap forward in terms of customer experience. Metaverse is now poised to become the next industry game-changing technology.
This article describes how immersive retail will evolve in the Metaverse and how retailers can use it to rediscover themselves and make their customers feel like stars!
What is Retailing in the Metaverse?
Metaverse is a term that describes the virtual world created by the convergence of technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and The Internet of Things (IoT). These technologies converge into one mega-technology that will completely change how we live, play, work, and even shop!
Retailers in the Metaverse will be able to transport a user into a virtual reality space where they can peruse through products and immerse themselves in the sensory experiences surrounding them. Holographic products with engaging 3d graphics will let customers experience the product from all possible angles. Customers can also scale the product to get a better sense of it, interact with others, learn more about the product(s), and then make a genuine purchase.
In other words, retailing in the Metaverse is an online shopping experience that uses blockchain and immersive technologies to provide their customers with a more personalized and dynamic experience.
The primary users of this technology will be regular consumers who want to understand how products look in their real-world settings. For example, let’s say you’re looking at a dress in a store and aren’t sure how it’ll look on you. You scan the product and adjust its fit in a virtual changing room that is being projected on the wall. Make it fit your body exactly how you want it to, and there you have a dress for your next party!
What’s New?
The prospect of utilizing blockchains to conduct transactions in the Metaverse is an exciting one. It’s an innovative concept that companies like Walmart, Ikea, H&M, and others are already taking advantage of to engage customers, increase sales, and provide them with memorable experiences.
In the Metaverse, retailers will get real-time access to their customers’ AI profiles, lifestyle trends, and preferences. Retailers can use this information to understand their customers better and design their digital stores accordingly. But with blockchain technology powering the platform, you won’t have to worry about your personal data being stolen or identity fraud. Instead, users get to control the way their data is stored and distributed. It will be a win-win for both parties.
The Metaverse can also provide retailers with real-time feedback from customers on their experience, which will help them improve for the future or identify problem areas. This is just one way immersive retail brings users and businesses closer like never before!
How is it changing consumer engagement and sales processes?
Create Personalized Purchase Experience: Embedded sensors can provide insights into customer behavior, allowing retailers to create a personalized shopping experience by providing product suggestions and contextually aware information based on demographics and buying patterns.
New Product Development: Retailers can use sensory data to create new products more efficiently.
Reduced Emissions/Waste: A blockchain-powered supply chain creates an immutable record that helps retailers track their product information, enabling the development of products with less waste and thus reducing emissions.
Better Customer Experience: Retailers can provide a more personalized experience to their customers by leveraging artificial intelligence and other technologies like chatbots, which will improve the overall customer experience. Customers will be able to get digital assistance across channels for any product queries or suggestions from retailers.
Boost Sales: By providing a unique shopping experience, retailers can boost their sales and turn to a loyal customer base.
What lies ahead!
The rise of mega-retailers, such as Alibaba and Amazon, has already given tough competition to small-scale retail businesses. However, Metaverse can be a tool for traditional brick-and-mortar stores to stay afloat and not dissolve into oblivion. Retailers can compete with their digital counterparts by improving the customer experience and engagement through immersive technologies such as Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality (VAMR).
The resurgence of retail can be largely attributed to e-commerce giants like Amazon, but immersive technology is now beginning to take center stage. Retailers would be given the ability to know what the customer wants, thus increasing profits and ensuring that the end-user has an incredible experience.
The future of retail will be entirely transformed into an experience in which consumers have whisked away on a journey not just to purchase a product but to experience the brand through immersive technologies. Consumers will be offered digital services and products exclusively to their mobile phones.
To achieve it, retailers need to understand why, how, and where consumers shop, what channels they use for research, what obstacles prevent them from completing the desired purchase, and what incentives motivate them to complete a purchase. Metaverse seems to have an answer for that.
Get your consultation at hello@metaexperiential.io
