Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2020. Read them in this 12th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
By Yuval Ben-Itzhak, Chief Executive Officer, Socialbakers
Virtual Reality Will Change the Face of eCommerce as we know it Today
Virtual Reality (VR) has long been
associated with the gaming world or with high budget Hollywood movies. While
some tech-savvy marketers have experimented with VR, most make the mistake of
underestimating its potential by seeing it only as an attention-getting
gimmick. VR presents a huge opportunity for companies as it can engage and
excite audiences, build brand awareness, and drive product discovery and
purchase. Imagine giving customers the opportunity to browse products through
virtual clothing racks and virtual showrooms, and then giving them a lifelike
experience with the product before leading them to a purchase. While it may be
5-10 years before we see it used at scale, VR technologies promise to be a
powerful weapon in the retail marketers' arsenal.
The Gap experimented with VR in
the form of a virtual DressingRoom app. Gap
shoppers used it to try on clothes virtually before buying. The Gap app helped
shoppers pick the right clothing for their shape and size and reduced customer
dissatisfaction and product returns in the process, saving the company money
and hassle.
Instagram also launched stories
for a few accounts to experiment with VR and AR shopping, interact with the
clothes and try them on.
Expect to see more experiments in
2020.
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About the Author
Yuval brings over 20 years of business and technology
experience. He is a frequent commentator in the media, speaking on topics such
as the future of mobile, security, privacy, consumer dynamics, and disruptive
innovation. Prior to joining Socialbakers in 2017, he served as CTO
at Outbrain. Before Outbrain he was CTO at AVG Technologies for 5 years where
he was instrumental in taking the company public in 2012. He was the CTO of
Finjan, and in 2000 founded the web application security pioneer, Kavado.