The metaverse is seen as the next evolution of the customer experience—a collective space where physical and digital worlds blend to deliver more immersive, interactive virtual—or augmented reality (VR/AR) user experiences, often referred to as extended reality (XR). Adoption of augmented reality in retail is said to be the next big thing and, indeed, evolve the customer experience strategies at large.
In this blog, we’ll discover how the blend of physical and virtual is helping the retail industry deliver optimum customer experience.
Examples of Immersive Experience Implementation in Retail
One of the real-life implementations of immersive technology is seen in Ikea; their Place app allows users to visualize how furniture will look and fit in their homes using augmented reality. North Face’s digital shopping assistant helps customers find the perfect outdoor gear through conversational AI.
Whereas a leading fashion brand, Coach launched with augmented reality platform ZERO10 in New York, where digital copies of the brand’s iconic Tabby Bag were available for try-on via ZERO10’s in-store AR smart mirror and AR Storefront.
Nike Unlaced, a new “shop-in-shop” retail concept, aims to transform the male-dominated shoe business and better serve female customers. It offers exclusive limited editions, customization bars, unisex sizing, and local product curation by notable creatives and stylists.
The Possibilities Unlocked with Immersive Experience
Here’s how the metaverse can be the new dimension for modern retail brands.
1. A customized and engaging shopping experience –
By introducing immersive in their customer experience strategy, retail businesses can perfectly be able to contact and engage with customers worldwide, providing a hyper-personalized experience.
For example- an online virtual area would allow fashion fans and their potential users to see and test how a specific piece of clothing would look on them.
2. Gamification of branding-
Using AR/VR gaming platforms to engage with millennial and Generation Z consumers. Levis has teamed with Snapchat to test its clothes range authentically and individualizedly. Gucci has partnered with online gaming platform Roblox to offer a virtual (or digital) version of its Gucci Dionysus handbag. Through gamification, brands are conducting interactive online fashion shows and parades to provide customers with an immersive experience as they discover new product launches and collections.
Also read Top Trends in Customer Experience in 2024
3. Brands learn more about their customers–
“Virtual shopping” can reveal a lot about the shopper’s tastes and preferences. When customers visit the virtual store in the AR/VR space, they try to test based on what they like, even if it’s just a piece of furniture. Hence, with this real-time data, brands can understand customers’ choices and demand for products across verticals and better position their offerings to capture market share.
4. Revolutionize virtual events—
Metaverse can bridge geographical divides, and mega retail events can be hosted on Metaverse. A recent use of metaverse was by John Legend for his concert “Bigger Love,” hosted by Wave and featuring a digital avatar of Legend. The fashion industry is experimenting with the metaverse, and companies like IMVU and Faceless are planning to create their fashion shows in the budding metaverse space.
Final Words
This technology of XR is indeed not for every business, but those who use it could benefit greatly, especially the retail industry can improve how their customers engage with their brands by conducting a thorough customer experience audit.
Immersive experiences have the potential to revolutionize the way we explore new worlds: already, you can attend concerts, shop, test products, visit attractions, and take workshops, all without physically traveling anywhere. By partnering with an innovation-intensive customer experience consulting company, retail organizations can untap into the possibilities of engaging their customers even in the virtual world.