Virtual Retail In Leading A Biggest Digital Transformation
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Virtualization of services are letting consumers to explore new horizons of digitalization as the pandemic has shaken the world in vigour of changing its outlook. Retail services were long been dismissed causing a tremendous hit on the economy along with the vast connected supply chain. The global retail market is mostly dominated by the physical sales of goods and services, though e-commerce continues to scoop out some share out of it. U.S. is the largest retail market in the world with sales of around $5 Trillion.
A smart approach to retailing could serve more in assisting to the economic growth of a country. India being the world's fastest growing economy facilitates towards e-commerce or digital services, driven by the increasing foreign investment to the sector and internet users of the country. As forecasted in a report,
Retail industry reached US$ 950 billion in 2018 at CAGR of 13% and is expected to reach US$ 1.1 trillion by 2020... Revenue generated from online retail is projected to reach US$ 60 billion by 2020.
Evolution of virtual stores from the need to cater the population with their requirements could prove a stimulus in such transformations. Already in use by most of the companies providing digital menu of products, Virtual Reality has augmented mainly the fashion retail with the availability of trying on - spectacles, jewelleries and even dresses - virtually using the mobile applications.
Digital modes of marketing with the use of advanced technologies enhances the consumer experience in leading to a successful deal as big fashion brands continue to leverage such in these uncertain times.
VIRTUAL REALITY IN RETAIL
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Retail store experience of consumers can never be substituted with a digital image view of a product. Constituting to such requirement, virtual reality serves in bringing the potential of a gaming technology to retailing, providing a real-time 'try before you buy' experience.
Post the pandemic, people are more concerned on visiting the stores which upheavaled the demand for e-commerce retailing. As per a report,
At the height of the pandemic, online grocery sales increased as much as fivefold to between 10% to 15% of total grocery sales...
Choosing a development environment with the availability of ARCore by Google has modified the marketing industry with the in-hand AR technology. Consumers are able to check their requirements by virtually placing a model of the product at home or trying themselves in case of dressings, efficiently immersing them with a realistic digital approach before buying.
Use of Haptic Technology
Apple, in their latest update on innovating a Next-Gen Apple Pencil, has introduced haptic feedback which enables users to have a full experience of a product through their touch. Such a technology reveals further potential that can be utilized in
Haptic Feedback technology integrated with virtual reality in retail can enhance such consumer experiences as they can check various products as well as feel them in real. Emulating the traditional system of retail shopping into mobile applications has made rapid modernization towards digitalization. However, a complete virtual experience has further potential of modifications with the latest technological advancements as haptic feedback into online retails. Market report states,
The haptic technology market is expected to be valued at USD 19.55 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 16.20% between 2016 and 2022.
Virtual Try-on Technology
Fashion industry is the largest growing in the world holding a global market share of around 4%. Though there are regular shoppers, the pandemic has re-modelled such into a new approach towards digital shopping. Latest tech-focussed methods followed, ensures a next-gen consumer experience towards shopping. Introduction of 3D avatars matching with the consumer's body shape enables visualization wherein a product can be tried upon ensuring perfect fit before going on a final deal.
Though the pandemic has created a boost, such technologies has been developed to serve the increasing demands of the millenials, who prefer digital retailing more than visiting a store. Fulfilling such requirements, most of the popular fashion brands have adopted virtual applications to ease out the process while varying ways of lead generation and increased sales.