5 ways immersive technologies can increase productivity in the retail industry

Role of immersive technology in Retail Operations Process

Immersive technologies open up new opportunities for businesses of all kinds to enhance the efficiency of the offerings. The retail business needs to pace up with modern technologies that have the true potential to increase their productivity and to be competitive.

 

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are the most trending immersive technology that completely changes the way customers interact with your brand. The use of technology in retail also makes a strong association between the brand & the customers.

Here is some immersive technology in retail business that offers a competitive advantage to retailers, increase productivity, and captivate customer’s interest include:

 

Augmented Reality In Retailing

It is an approach where a digital layer is superimposed on real-world, assimilating physical and virtual elements to improve the real-world experiences. Use of technology in Retail businesses can increase productivity, improve quality, and reduce injuries. Fantastic AR retailing apps help and guide the consumers to choose the right product or service for them. AR enables the customer to have a detailed description and usage of a particular product instead of verbal interaction with sales personnel.

 

 For instance, Ikea app allows customers to visualize the store furniture in their drawing room or French beauty brand Sephora encourages their customers to “try before they buy” feature for their products with AR app only.

 

Virtual Reality in Retailing

Rich and engaging content is what makes VR a winner in the retail sector. An immersive experience of the digital world with a 360-degree view is offered to the user here. Now, the customers are shifting from E-commerce to V-commerce, and demand for hardware players like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Samsung headsets are trending high. The entire customer experience journey can be shaped by a complete immersion and engagement process with Virtual Reality in retail technology.

 

For instance, one of the online shopping giants has implemented a VR shopping experience that allows the user to walk through a store and choose the product. Multiple retail brands have introduced VR like Tesco, Cisco, Coop, Alibaba, and alike where their promo video, product view, prices, purchase options are displayed with the 360-degree panoramic view. 

Ways in which retailers can use virtual reality and augmented reality are:

• Enriched in-store Experience
• VR training to employees
• In-Store Navigation
• Product Information & Description
• Product Search & Customization
• Try before buy the concept
• Immersive product catalog
• Interactive displays & mirrors

With this, returns and waste will reduce and technologyin retail business made shopping an efficient and cost-effective process.

 

Mixed commerce or mixed reality

Mixed Reality offers a new shopping environment by merging both online and offline sales. Here, traditional retail stores combine with online shopping enabling customers to try and feel the product before buying with ease. This technology relies on augmented and virtual reality for creating a 3D visual environment where users can change the products to see how they perform in the real world.

 

Three common mixed reality technology in retail business trends to create positive buying experiences:

• Installation of mixed retail kiosks
• Digital re-equipment of the existing stores,
• Creating AR apps allowing to view products at home

 

For instance, eBay (in cooperation with brands like Sony, TOMS Shoes & Rebecca Minkoff) used touchscreen in a shopping mall for customers to browse and choose items. 

 

In conclusion

The most exciting thing about the implementation of AR/VR technologies in the Retail industry is that they are easily adaptable & offer an entirely new dimension to the work. The implementation of these technologies will surely uplift your business and delivers measurable outcomes. 10^th dimension Singapore specialized in designing and developing AR/VR applications and tools with great efficiency.