The retail industry has a new set of enablers that facilitates its unique bonding with customers. Immersive technologies, AR and VR, have catapulted the dream ventures of so many retailers around the world. They believe that customer immersion would rather be a key to enhancing the overall customer experience in offline stores. The market value of AR and VR technologies is expected to touch a massive $97 billion by the year 2025. Surely, your retail brand cannot overlook the scope of adopting them now! In this age of Phygital, it is the clubbing of the physical world with the digital world that leads to the transformation of a retail space into a customer-centric space. AR/VR-led customer immersion is a compelling way to boost engagement today. Let’s see how you can leverage these immersive technologies, AR/VR, to boost your business growth.

AR/VR  Benefits

1. Personalized Customer Experience

Big retailers across the globe have realized the immense benefits that personalized, targeted marketing entails. So, why would you use AR and VR in your retail store? These digital technologies help in creating personalized marketing strategies for varied platforms, viz., physical stores or offline retail stores using mobile phones, digital kiosks, web shopping platforms, and so on. The personalized marketing strategies using Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual reality(VR) help to provide your customers an enhanced level of shopping experience. As a retailer, you are not providing a simple 2D banner but 3D graphics-rich content, which does the wonderous job for you! Yes, the ultimate result is the total immersive experience for customers increasing engagement. Don’t you think this is increasing your sales, too? After all, happy customers mean happy retailers!AR tools like Magic Mirror can design customized apparels, or any products like cosmetics, as per the demand of your customers shopping in the retail store. Thus, AR and VR do create a customized, personalized in-store shopping experience leading to an increased users’ buy rate. Using these technologies, You can get a much detailed view of your customers’ preferences so that you can curate their shopping options for the future.

2. In-Store Navigation

Big retailers are focusing on the minimum physical contacts in their in-stores. For instance, AR applications enable in-store navigation a very easy process for the consumers. Like, there is signage (AR-based) for product-finder, pathfinder, virtual concierge, lift& learn facility, in-store catalog, in-door maps, and so on. This way, you can help consumers to find products quickly, and even can call ‘staff’ on requirement.

3. Contactless Trial for Products

 If you are a big retailer, owning a big retail showroom with a huge collection of apparel, cosmetics, accessories, wearables, you must be having a large customer base (and loyal customers, too). Today, people don’t want to go to the trial room and try clothes, or, they even don’t want to use testers (that are repeated with customers until done) while buying cosmetics. AR magic mirror with its aesthetic appeal handles this challenge, too. AR with video walls in-store and AR app mobile phones, people just love shopping offline and online on this platform.

4. Improved Customer Engagement

Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) technologies help to improve your customer engagement as well as personal involvement to a higher level. As said earlier, your customers now can use the AR-powered in-store navigation tool to locate the items they exactly want to buy. It helps in searching for products in your store very easily leading to smooth purchasing. Moreover, Your customers can have a virtual tour of your store from any location, just from wherever they are present now. Certainly, these AR/VR experiences boost a greater level of customer engagement. Your customers can get required product information using VR headsets leading to their immersive buying experience while using AR tools, they can see their items to buy in the real world, for example, digital kiosks, digital magic mirrors. Hence, as a retailer, you can benefit from AR/VR in-store as well as in the online retail segment.

5. Enhanced Content Marketing

The Augmented Reality(AR)and Virtual Reality (VR) are tremendous marketing too. For example, in-store, digital signboards can attract customers by detecting their age, gender and persona and displaying the related items onscreen (that can have the AR-led check-out system, too). Thus, you see, AR/VR can provide you with engaging, intuitive, personalized content for your digital marketing strategies. Even you can capitalize on these technologies for marketing on social media channels and sites. It is not just about displaying non-interactive ads that are providing product information to the users, as that does not always create users’ interests. However, using AR and VR technologies, you can now evoke your users’ interests by providing an engaging advertisement option to them which might lead to checking out the product, too!

6. Enhanced Customer Satisfaction & Retention

If your customers are happy, as a retailer you are also happy. If they are happy with their shopping experience in your retail store, chances are very high they will return to you next time, too. You create a unique bonding now with your happy customers’ thanks to the AR/VR immense capabilities that engage them, enhance their overall shopping experience. AR and VR provide personalized services to your customers that help you to retain them. Also, it is very less likely that they will return your products after purchasing. Thus, the technologies help in boosting customer satisfaction, retaining them, and guaranteeing you a profitable return in the competitive market. So, the adoption of AR and VR technologies is conducive to your retail store bringing in a greater ROI for your business.

7. Improved Employee Training

Do you find training your employees, staff, sales associates, etc. an arduous process? It is indeed a complicated process for every big retailer in offline retail stores. Even it would incur huge costs if any employee commits mistakes during training, leading to financial loss to your retail company. When you use AR and VR tools, the whole training process becomes smooth with zero risks. It happens this way, these capabilities facilitate training by simulating real-life environments and training situations. Your employees can now be trained smoothly using AR/VR-powered tools wherein they can get hands-on experience handling customers, helping them find a product, emulate buying behavior using Magic mirror, etc.

Augment your Retail Business

AR and VR are the big digital powers that can boost your retail business anywhere around the world. Being a big retailer in the market, it is your competitive edge that can drive customers to revisit your in-stores,  online stores, or both, owing to their immersive and personalized shopping experience. These digital applications can help you immensely in accelerating the decision-making process, generating more sales, and building a large customer following for your business. So, have you adopted these digital technologies in your retail business? Think over, and act soon!

Are you a retailer wondering how to incorporate AR/VR capabilities into your business? Reach Us today and avail of the immense benefits conducive for your retail business.

Are you a travel lover? A travel vlogger? A globetrotter? Or, just a simple person who loves vacationing with family or friends, to take a break from routine life? What’s so common with you all? Well, a chorus could be – “How to beat the pandemic blues!” The very chorus that resonates the whole world today. Not even the President of United States is immune to this devil virus, CORONA virus. No doubt, everyone is wishing him a sooner recovery but how to recover from the massive losses incurred so far globally, in terms of life and property!?  Fingers crossed!

The pandemic due to COVID-19 has caused major disruptions in the global economy. Another recession, economy slowdown, rapid rise in unemployment, and what not! There’s been an abrupt halt in international travel, severely impacting the tourism industry. Greater chunks of government revenue, foreign exchange earnings, employment source, depend on tourism sector. Travel & tourism, being a vital lifeline for revenues worldwide, ironically, battling for survival! The industry is struggling to cope up the repercussions but as you all know, there is a silver lining to every dark cloud in the sky. The significant catch is the change in customer behavior that amounts to the overall revamping process of industry. Technology plays a pivotal role here, again.

Robotics Technology

Social distancing has become a new normal today and people are religiously following the DOs and DONTs under the Corona advisory. People are reluctant to travel and their perception of holidaying and recreation has totally upended, a complete halt. When humans fall, machines arise. The Travel & Tourism industry is shifting focus to recovery and deploying robots everywhere – airport, hotel, restaurants, tourist places, etc. The motto is   minimizing human-to-human contact and bolstering people’s confidence. But how?

The Robotics technology is propelling self-service methods, travel-agents use them for pre-screening process, text-based chatbots & robotic assistants in front desk are serving the needs of travelers thus reducing queue sizes. Right from acting as a concierge, to greeting guests and providing information from time to time, robots are seen all around in hotels, restaurants, airports.

For instance, if you happen to visit New Sheraton, Los Angeles, robots will enthrall you with their unique service. Wayfinder, the friendly robot will guide you to find out direction, say, steakhouse, swimming pool, room, wherever you want to go. The Luggage robot/Tug robot will carry your luggage duly locked for security reason, you just have to use a 4-digit code to unlock and get it to your room! Rom Service robot will bring food to your room, a genuine room service, and you can even give tips to them!

So, where did you get chance to break the protocol of social distancing? Robotics technology is all set to revive tourism the world over.

Virtual Reality

Have you planned your next trip? Because now you can experience locations on your itinerary right from your home using Virtual Reality tools. You can have an immersive experience by virtually travelling your hotels, restaurants, landmarks, and even the sightseeing activities! These 360 tours or VR tours you can experience via your smartphones or web browsers using In-Consumer gears. This way, you can plan your vacation, trips using technology without any human intervention. You are indeed using virtual tools to experience the real world!

Virtual & Contactless Payments

In the wake of pandemic, you’d definitely vouch for the contactless payment where you don’t need to carry cash, debit card or a credit card, rather your smart mobile phone is smart enough to do the payments for your travel. Yes, you are carrying a Mobile wallet with you. MPOS, P2P are a few digital payment modes that give you an entire seamless experience. No more frets!

Internet- of- Things (IoT)

The unprecedented constraints on aviation due to pandemic has led to a complete chaos in the travel & tourism sector. However, airlines are resuming operations while keeping safety measures intact. The Internet-of-Things technology has emerged as an exciting savior which calls for interconnecting daily devices via internet. IOT based HVAC systems combat airborne transmission of viruses in the airport thus protecting you from any probable infection.

Do you know how Abu-Dhabi International Airport is using motion based elevators where you can just wave your hand to point your destination floor? That makes you pretty safe because distance between you and your fellow passenger is being maintained.

Way-finding apps such as WISEFLY will alert you if you come close to any other person nearby, thus, helping you maintain social distance.

The robot Wayfinder that served you a while ago in New Sheraton, Los Angeles (courtesy the Robotics Technology paragraph above), did follow an IoT technology sensor based doors to lead you to your room.

Biometric-Recognition Technology

Again, in Dubai International Airport, ‘Smart Tunnel’ uses facial recognition as an identification tool. You get a single digital ID which can determine your unique identity, travel – detail & biometrics. Thus, you don’t have to carry physical documents, only one biometric travel token through all touch-points is what you require! Touchless technology is here to stay!

AI & Big Data

Connie is the AI-powered robot deployed by Hilton hotels. It uses Artificial Intelligence & Speech Recognition to speak to tourists seeking information. Then you have SAM, your intelligent travel – chatbot, guiding you every minute predicting weather or traffics or any sightseeing opportunities you should not miss! Thus, no need of a tourist guide.

Big Data & Predictive Analysis technology is helping the industry analyzing current business performance, viz. hotel business using Big Data for revenue management purpose to anticipate future demand levels.

According to a recent BCG- Consumer Sentiment Survey report (respondents from USA, Canada, France, Germany, UK, Italy, China) 54 per cent said they would prioritize social distancing as a major precaution while going on trips. Even United Nations’ World Tourism Organization has recently released a set of global guidelines to resume tourism and emphasized the role of technology as a major transforming tool for the industry. Thus, prioritizing people’s sentiments, the industry has to adopt technology as a major reviving weapon to resurrect itself, as well as restore tourists’ confidence to restart their journey to destinations that they had once dreamt of, before the global crisis started.

If you are a startup or company engaged into travel industry who would like to understand how to capitalize technology, Speak to us today!

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