Most consumers prefer to shop online than in-person, but significant frustrations remain. Immersive tech may have the answer.
Sixty six per cent of consumers agree that they “find retail stores to be more challenging than online shopping,” according to research conducted by immersive technology company Infinite Reality.
But while shoppers prefer the convenience of online retail, many remain frustrated by the search and research process, and products failing to meet expectations when they arrive.
The impact of the antiquated current system on businesses is significant. Seventy per cent of online shopping carts are abandoned before checkout. And when customers do make a purchase? Online returns cost online retailers around $247 billion in 2023, about 17.6% of all online sales.
The latest generation of technology – from AI to extended-reality (XR) immersive tech including Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) – may offer the solutions businesses need to overcome these longstanding ecommerce pain points.
Appetite for immersion
While unquestionably convenient, ecommerce has never quite managed to match the recommendations you get from a trained sales associate, or the ability to interact with a product before buying.
Customers and businesses both believe that AI could help to bridge those gaps in online shopping.
One 2023 survey found that most U.S. consumers believe generative AI could improve the online shopping experience. Another reported that 86% of adults worldwide want AI to help with product research or information.
On the business side, nearly three-quarters of marketers believe AI can help them to better understand what customers want, enabling them to further improve customer experience.
Meanwhile, immersive technology holds promise for simulating the hands-on aspect of in-store shopping. Over half of consumers surveyed by Infinite Reality found the idea of an immersive shopping experience appealing – rising to 69% amongst younger consumers and gamers who viewed it as useful and helpful with purchase decisions.
Respondents cited “the same level of visual feedback that I would normally get from an in-person experience” and the ability to speak to an AI sales agent for more information as particularly desirable.
The appetite for a more accurate, convenient and personalized shopping experience is there. But what does it really look like?
Next-gen ecommerce
A simple but effective way to begin using immersive tech for ecommerce is 3D product modelling; creating detailed images for standard and customizable products, which can then be viewed from any angle.
According to the Infinite Reality research, two of the categories consumers were most interested in with regards to an immersive shopping experience were apparel and home furnishings.
The modelling, when utilised in an augmented-reality experience, enables shoppers to see how clothes will look on them, or how furniture will match their existing décor.
3D models can even be presented in a fully-realized virtual shop, navigated in-browser or with a virtual headset, simulating the in-store experience without the queues or crowds.
These immersive worlds can be populated with AI-powered sales agents who are able to offer personalized recommendations or talk customers through their options. These can take the form of chatbots most of us are familiar with, or highly realized avatars.
Similarly, immersive tech can be used to integrate social functionality into the shopping experience, enabling virtual shoppers to communicate with each other while they browse.
All of these use cases conjure an entirely revolutionized online shopping experience, something that surpasses the two-dimensional, website-based experience customers have grown frustrated with.
And while cutting-edge technology like this is usually confined to large corporations, it is becoming accessible to businesses of all sizes through self-service Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions, like Infinite Reality’s iR Studio.
Accessible cutting-edge
The move towards SaaS cloud-, and often subscription-, based platforms is just as significant a technological revolution as immersive tech.
SaaS Solutions like iR Studio allow small businesses to access innovative AI and immersive technology, building stunning 3D websites with no coding required.
And with a newly inked, five-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud, offering access to the search giant’s best-in-class cloud infrastructure and AI, Infinite Reality indicates that iR Studio users will soon have access to even greater functionality.
Thanks to the partnership, businesses will be able to create fully immersive shopping experiences – integrated into existing apps and websites – that use 3D product visualization and AI sales support able to tailor product recommendations to each visitor.
Crucially, the company says its users will also have access to analytics to measure how customers interact with the site, and provide the basis for future improvements.
Bringing ecommerce to life
The advent of online shopping was a technological marvel that most consumers have enthusiastically adopted. But 30 years on from the launch of Amazon, the days of two-dimensional shopping experiences may be numbered, with customers already finding greater satisfaction in 3D marketplaces. Even Amazon has dipped into the 3D web, recently launching a number of 3D stores in an initiative called Amazon Beyond, which includes its holiday store.
Vividly-realized, AI-enabled immersive stores have the potential to address pain points that have existed since the beginning of ecommerce. And with no-code SaaS platforms like iR Studio, they’re accessible to any business that wants to build a better online shopping experience.
Read more about iR Studio and its immersive website builder here.
