4 / 14 / 23 , 9:45 AM What Retailers Need to Know About the Metaverse – WWD
Provide in-store associates to guide customers through the use of XR technologies . Ensure easy and more secure payment methods . Provide opportunities for groups of friends and family to shop within the XR realm together while in a store , to expand spending . Provide opportunities to easily customize familiar products using XR . Supply equipment access for those with physical and visual impairments .
He concluded that “ due to the lack of evidence-based strategies based on real consumer opinions , the adoption of widespread XR from both companies and consumers has been lacking .”
Asked which retail sectors are most suitable for the metaverse , Riggs replied : “ The opportunities and suitability for various retail sectors are varied yet all are still in their nascent stages of proof-of-concept . The most visible and widely discussed ( although not necessarily most successful ) points of entry into the metaverse to date have been through experiential retail events , such as concerts and fashion shows . These have generated rather mixed reviews .
“ That said , IA ’ s research has shown that those retailers whose products or services can be customized are motivators for both the novice and veteran XR consumer to engage with the metaverse .
“ Automotive brands have successfully brought XR into their design centers , allowing customers to customize interiors , while physically sitting in a mockup of their luxury seating with virtual reality goggles . Home goods , furnishing stores and design centers selling both larger or complements of products for rooms can lean into XR both instore as well as the metaverse to assist in the design , visualization , sales and delivery of products right to your front door ,” Riggs added .
On the other hand , Riggs said that soft goods have a while before the metaverse is more than a brand awareness vehicle . “ There is untapped development needed before the next iterations of the metaverse come around ,” he said .
Guy Messick , IA Interior Architect ’ s senior director for digital technologies , also responding to WWD via emails , wrote : “ Our rm has been utilizing virtual reality ( VR ) over the past eight years for a variety of use cases . We have found that VR allows our designers and clients to better understand the built environment . Three years ago , we
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