Apr 6, 2016

Virtual Reality to Become Our Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) has been on its way, but not quite here, for what feels like an eternity. Similarly to how 3D TV’s were hyped up for months before they ever came to market, gamers, developers, and technology fans have been foaming at the mouth over VR since the Oculus Rift was announced. It seems like every phone manufacturer out there is trying their hand at a VR headset as well, with Samsung being the obvious frontrunner with their Gear VR. None of this should be news to anyone who follows the pulse of technology, but there are plenty of people who simply don’t keep up with the latest tech trends. VR is a big one though, and for small business owners, Virtual Reality is about to be your biggest game-changer for the way customers experience your store. When people think of retail, they think about getting to see, touch, and possibly even use the product. For some people this offers a resounding sense of confidence when making their purchase. For several years, however, these experiences have been passed up by the convenience of online shopping. For consumers, same day deliveries and the convenience of placing orders from your smartphone regardless of your location simply beat out the perks of retail shopping. If you’re a small business, chances are you’ve noticed this change and are looking for a way to make the experience of being in your store more appealing. That’s where Virtual Reality comes in, to put the power of a unique, immersive shopping experience in your retail store. Let’s say you do flooring for houses, and offer consultations in an office where customers come to meet you. Instead of looking at 1”x1” slabs of materials on a posterboard, they put on a headset and see the entire floor covered in those same materials. Virtual Reality can demonstrate different lighting, furniture, spill and scratch tests in a way that retail stores never could before. Remodeling companies, furniture stores, clothing companies, and more will be able to apply to their businesses this groundbreaking technology that maybe only originally appealed to gamers and geeks. Even if your experience isn’t as immersive as some of the work Oculus, Samsung, and Microsoft have been working on, having some sort of VR experience will get people talking about your store and make more people want to stop by.