Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are changing how we live and interact with other people. Another thing these technologies are altering is the way we shop. While still in their infancies, both of these techs have the potential to completely alter shopping as we know it. The best part of it is that they can boost customer experience and take shopping to the next level. This is great news for both customers and businesses. Customers will get a better experience while businesses will be able to attract more customers and keep them happy. But how exactly can AR and VR uplift customer experience? Read on to find out.
Elemental customer experience
When selling a product, the most important thing to do is to show the customer that the product works. While some products are easy to demonstrate, others are not. Let’s say you’re selling safety equipment. It’s impossible to show your customers how your equipment performs when used. Up until now, most companies relied on drawings and 3D presentations to show their products in action. However, with the emergence of AR and VR, holding demonstrations has never been easier. Not only this, but you can actually let a customer enter a virtual building and test your equipment without risk of getting injured. Think of it as a movie trailer as it brings the main idea closer to the customer and encourages them to go further. Another great thing about these techs is that you can use them in any industry. Just think about it – customers can enter virtual fitting rooms, drive virtual cars, and take virtual real estate tours.
Better customer interaction
For years, we’ve been using technology for communication. Skype and Facebook Messenger have made video calls something we use every day. However, when shopping online, most people interact with AIs instead of real people. When you send a message on a company’s website, you’ll most often get a response from a chatbot. Why when interacting with people online is so easy? Well, for years, companies just couldn’t find a way to involve actual human beings in their online stores. But with AR and VR, things are about to change. Just imagine talking to an agent in virtual reality and having them help you pick the right house, a piece of clothes, or anything else. The entire experience would become more personal and customers would get a better service. While virtual agents aren’t here just yet, we could soon start interacting with their avatars when shopping on the web.
Improved graphics
Technology is advancing at a rapid pace. The emergence of AR and VR has the potential to surpass all other technologies we currently have. For example, let’s look at the world of gaming. Most PC and console games that we have come with incredible graphics. In fact, playing those games makes you feel like you’re actually there and not in front of the screen. Is there anything that can beat those graphics? The answer is AR and VR. The only thing that’s better than playing games with high-quality graphics is stepping into a virtual world yourself. Take a look at iGaming, for instance. While online casinos available at the moment look great, casinos you can visit in virtual reality are undoubtedly better. Just imagine sitting at a virtual table and playing blackjack with a real dealer.
Customer feedback in AR and VR
Another great thing about AR and VR is that they can help businesses build strong emotional bonds with their customers. Businesses that want to build long-lasting relationships have to ask customers for their opinions of their products. While this has been going on online for quite some time, AR and VR are about to take it to the next level. Customers who shop in virtual reality will be able to see product information such as customer reviews as they shop. Therefore, reviews will be more important than ever and customers will have more social proof when choosing products. These reviews will also build more trust between customers and business, which is essentially what all companies are looking to do. More trust means more regular customers and more referrals. We can only imagine how these reviews will look in AR and VR but one thing’s for sure – they’re about to revolutionize the way we shop.
Better employee engagement that leads to improved customer experience
One more excellent example of how businesses can use AR and VR is staff training. Nowadays, almost all employees go through some sort of training before getting hired. However, they don’t always get a chance to experience working until their first day at the job. While there’s nothing wrong about new employees, customers prefer interacting with experienced employees, simply because they can offer better service. With these techs in their arsenal, companies can train employees better than ever. They can experience all kinds of situations in virtual reality and learn how to react. This will make them better employees but even more importantly, they’ll improve customer experience. Not to mention that the use of these technologies can help companies reduce expenses of real-life trainers. New employees can interact with virtual customers in a virtual world, making training by far less expensive.
The bottom line
AR and VR are here to stay. They’re not only going to make our lives more fun, but they’ll completely change the way we shop. Whether it’s buying clothes, choosing a flight seat, or visiting an online casino, these techs will take everything to the next level. Customer experience will get a huge boost and buying stuff or playing games will become even more enjoyable.
