Virtual Showrooms are becoming more and more famous because of the last pandemic, everyone locked out for months, months that seemed to be endless. All of this has been going around for almost 3 years now, countries, cities looked deserted, empty of any sort of life, schools, for a while, weren’t full of kids’ laughter, businesses shutdown because of this Covid 19. Thankfully, technology was there when we most needed it, in order to overcome the difficult situation we were exposed to. Along with other technologies, many companies decided to bet on virtual reality for them to keep on being productive and to enhance their numbers. Virtual stores, virtual shops but also virtual showrooms were hidden in a chamber until the pandemic proved their importance for us, something we ignored for a while.
In this article, we are going to explain to you the functioning of virtual showrooms, provide with a few advantages and applications of this technology, we are also going to answer the question of whether this innovation is just a futuristic and a trendy technology that is going to end sometime soon or if it’s here to stay for a while.
Definition of a 3D virtual showroom
To put it simply, a virtual showroom, as its name suggests is a virtual interactive space allowing brands to present and exhibit their various products in a 3D virtual reality. Many brands fear for the shopping experience, the main challenge for them is to combine a rich shopping experience and an original digital journey. Nothing to fear because even the shopping experience has evolved a lot since then, moreover several studies have shown that the introduction of immersive technologies is attracting more and more customers, according to the study carried out by GetApp in 2022 on a sample of 1007 people from different countries such as France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, affirms that 69% of the people questioned would like to be able to buy clothes and accessories in virtual reality and 45% say they would use virtual reality if it were available on their usual shopping platforms. These figures are more than revealing about the expectations of customers these days and know that this interest in immersive technologies does not only concern Generation Y ( Millenials ), and does not only concern critical periods such as this current pandemic, we can confirm that the adventure of virtual showrooms and the immersive experience is far from coming to an end.
A few advantages of 3D virtual showrooms
As you have understood, the trend of 3D virtual showrooms has been growing and has continued to develop since the start of the pandemic, brands want to be more and more creative and innovative, and so they are constantly looking for originality. To best meet the expectations of customers who are looking for a rich experience, virtual showrooms perfectly meet these expectations, although many may think that the experience may not be human or emotional, you should know that this idea is completely false, the immersive experience allows brands to immerse their customers in their own world of the brand, the customers and their expectations are at the heart of this strategy, this immersive experience not only allows customers to immerse themselves in your brand’s universe but also allows them to personalize products, browse your entire range of products, have all the necessary information and to be accompanied throughout its virtual journey, whether through an automated virtual assistant or avatars present on your virtual store. For companies, the implementation of immersive technologies (virtual reality, augmented reality, virtual showroom) makes it possible to meet various objectives of companies, which can only constitute a real solid competitive advantage:
- Improving the customer experience by making it interactive, informative and fun.
- Accessibility to a wider range of your products.
- For real estate agencies, car agencies, tourism, industry. 3D virtual showrooms will allow you to set up immersive visits remotely.
- Reach more consumers since it is an interactive space accessible online.
- A very powerful, distinctive, communication and advertising tool.
- In most cases, virtual showrooms reduce the usual costs of a physical store (rent, maintenance, renovations, layout, security, etc.)
- Reinforce your brand image
- A relationship of trust with your customers while offering them a unique experience with high added value.
- An emotional involvement favoring the act of purchase and making it possible to retain customers more.
- A real “phygital” journey, that is to say both physical and digital.
Are 3D virtual showrooms a futuristic fantasy for companies and customers, or the end of an era that has only just begun its journey ?
We hear more and more about virtual showrooms in different sectors, the benefits they count both ways for companies and for customers. When we talk about 3D virtual showrooms, we are talking about high ROI investment, nowadays more and more users are likely to be interested in brands that opt for new technologies and adopt this innovation. Brands that are afraid to take the risk of leaving their comfort zone to evolve to the rhythms of trends are now perceived as “old-fashioned” brands, brands that will find themselves crushed by the competition. This is why more and more companies are using this kind of service based on immersive technologies in order to increase their market share and expand their customer portfolios. According to FEVAD figures on AR / VR market, sales would be enhanced by 76.9% between 2019 and 2024 to reach 136.9 billion by 2024, these figures say a lot about the popularity of these technologies, which are not just high tech but a real tool for sales, communication, integration, entertainment and learning.
In a few years, we will no longer be talking about a physical shopping experience, but about a virtual shopping experience and this applies to all sectors. And not that virtual showrooms and immersive technologies have opened the door to a new concept called v-commerce which will replace e-commerce and this can be explained by the fascination that customers have for of this kind of immersive experiences; out of 1007 people questioned by GETapp “45% of people questioned say they are likely to buy more from brands offering product and service interactions using immersive technologies”.
Beyond customers and brands, immersive technologies make it possible to overcome external problems and provide a more ecological and a healthier solution to reinforce the problems related to the pollution of the earth or the inflation of the fuel which is in the process of exploding all over the world, if tomorrow, we are led to no longer use a car, for example, 3D virtual showrooms and these immersive technologies will once again prove their worth, showing the whole world the importance of technological advances in the 21st century.
Finally, to conclude, the answer is obvious, it is a futuristic innovation which takes all its momentum over the days, an innovation that we will not be able to do without.
These advantages are really significant both for merchants that professionals and for users, today, we are talking about a post-Covid era with a new requirements of the consumers, which makes it a journey that must be succeeded in order for us to ensure our own survival in this virtual world , a world which is being built little by little, but at a phenomenal speed.
The best way to take advantages of this technology is to call on a service provider, Illusion 3D is a 3D agency specialized in the field, an agency who is able to produce 3D models of the products and implement them on a site or an application to create your personalized 3D virtual showroom according to your needs and most importantly, meeting your needs, satisfying your expectations and those of your users.