In an earlier post, I briefly touched on the implications of new technology and what it could mean for the future of digital marketing. Among the advancements listed, augmented and virtual reality was something that really captured my interest.
Virtual reality is expected to reach around $4 billion in market value, with an estimated 24 million AR and VR devices to be sold by 2018. Its growing popularity holds great potential for many industries, including retail. Highlighted by a Goldman Sachs report, ecommerce is a $1.5 trillion market from which AR and VR has the potential to revolutionize and open up untouched and/or difficult high-end portions of the retail market.
Virtual reality revolutionising digital marketing? Image sourced from: Flickr
With such exciting growth, is it time for digital marketers to jump on-board?
In terms of experiential marketing, VR and AR is a must have due to being unparalleled in visualisation, content and engagement. The technology has great potential and could be used for placing consumers in a hotel/holiday setting, the changing room of an online retail store and the front row seats of a huge music or sporting event. In short, it can deliver the most immersive trial experience of a luxury brand like never before.
Outside of retail and entertainment experiences, both AR and VR have potential to be applied in other industries as well. The financial service sector could benefit from VR and AR bringing clients financial goals to life through visual representations and projections of their long term investment outlooks. AR and VR can also replace traditional meetings by providing virtual connection spaces for busy clients, revolutionising the way in which business is conducted.
AR and VR to be part of the boardrooms of the future? Image sourced from: Wikimedia Commons
Of course, VR and AR also have key obstacles to overcome before full adoption by a majority of businesses. Cost is still a large factor and gives small businesses the perception of AR and VR still being viewed as a luxury rather than a necessity. Another factor is that the technology will only ever be able to replicate reality and never fully deliver the same experience our senses have to the real world. Full adoption of the technology is hindered at times by negative views that AR and VR are contributing to the inauthentic automation that society is being consumed by.
What are your thoughts on the development of AR and VR? Should it be adopted by businesses ASAP or given more time to develop? Click ‘Leave a Comment’ to have your say.
The Lach Blog 
I thing AR and VR are wonderful inventions; it looks like it has come straight out of a science fiction movie. I do believe the possibilities are endless and I recently came across this article that stated Google is already experimenting with adding advertisements in VR (https://www.engadget.com/2017/06/28/google-experiments-with-vr-ads/), so I think it has a big future in front of it! However, I hope people will also take of their headset sometimes and we won’t get addicted to it.
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So much potential for the technology to be used in an array of fields! Was recently reading about NASA using it to simulate missions to Mars https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-concepts-bring-precision-mars-to-virtual-reality.
Will be interesting to see how it advances in the next 5-10 years
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I think this are really exciting developments! There has been a video of possible future VR supermarkets which really help in space efficiency (think scrollable shelves!). But while it brings about a lot of convenience and immersive trial experiences, a lot more issues will come from the lack (at this stage at least) of the *physical* – so with a supermarket for example, will the company ensure the freshness of the product since we can’t pick one particular item? etc. Marketers should definitely explore this technology whether it be adopted small scale now or further researched.
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I think virtual retailers will become a big thing in later years but you’re right in that being unable to physical examine the product is an underlying issue. Will be a key challenge for marketers in creating a fully immersive environment for its shoppers.
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I can’t see businesses adopting AR and VR anytime soon. I think they still have a lot to work on before many other businesses decide to jump on board. Like you said, the innovation is definitely a great way increase customer experience. However, it doesn’t seem all that necessary.
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True, it’s not likely to be full taken on in its early stages and it’s quite unnecessary/expensive for small businesses. Adoption rates are increasing as the technology becomes more sophisticated so it may become much more prominate down the track
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Hi,
I believe that businesses should be patient and wait for further development of VR. After all, VR is not widely used as much as other marketing channels; therefore, it would be challenging to generate high revenue from using such innovative technology.
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