Metaverse technology is the start of a new industrial revolution. All big tech companies are investing into metaverse applications as they look to build the future and the next step beyond the internet.
The technology is moving fast but remains at the early adoption stage, predominantly used in gaming. As technology advances, all industries and sectors will use VR/AR metaverse technology to interact with the customers and each other.
Businesses are at a crucial stage in adopting VR and AR. The technology and hardware are finally coming of age; VR and AR will significantly boost domestic and global economies.
In VR, you can be anywhere in the world and connect with anyone whilst feeling as if you are in the same place. With AI technology, blended with Metaverse VR, domestic markets can become global markets. Digital assistants will communicate with you in your local language, understand local customs, trends and create individual and unique experiences. Retailers or organisations focused on only their domestic markets will engage with global audiences without travelling or having a physical presence. Pace to market will be accelerated, with investment costs significantly reduced, opening up enormous opportunities for businesses.
Organisations will improve the way they operate, make processes faster and more effective, educate people more effectively and create incredible user experiences.
It is important to note that existing traditional domestic markets will come under threat from digital businesses that operate overseas. Their traditional competition will change.
We can see a future where Virtual Reality is used within a retail or consumer market.
We believe now is the time to develop applications that support brands and their customers to engage with each other in a digital world.
Let us take the automotive industry as an example. Today we configure and build new cars online looking at a flat-screen. In the future, you will configure a vehicle in a 3-dimensional digital showroom and without travelling from your home or office. You will feel like you are standing next to the actual vehicle, making the configuration changes, adding optional extras, and virtually testing driving. The sales advisor can meet you for your consultation, or you can browse the dealership and look at the cars.
For the OEM, the benefit is a car showroom and brand experience centre without expensive physical space. They will be able to showcase their entire range of vehicles, every specification and every colour, something that is not possible today in a real-world showroom. The OEM rather than the 3rd party dealer can also control the entire sales process and ongoing direct engagement with the customer.
General consumer retail will be significantly impacted by Virtual Reality technology. Image a world where a customer enters the virtual 3-dimensions space, made available via an app in the VR store. Once in the virtual vestibule, the customer first creates their avatar with measurements, clothing sizes and style preferences.
In the virtual showroom, the avatar can view garments or other products in 3D, compare them, try them on, use them to look at himself in a virtual mirror, add them to his shopping cart, compare them and buy them. By touching/clicking an information area on the displayed product, the customer can access product information such as available colours, sizes, prices, general availability and delivery terms, technical specifications, etc. If desired, the customer can call an advisor who is then also available virtually to answer questions. This can be created as an avatar of an actual brand employee or as an AI-controlled assistant. Brands can develop retail spaces and experiences that are not possible in a physical world.
Remote engagement is already here.
The global pandemic has made permanent changes to working environments, with most staff now having the option of remote working or a hybrid solution. Zoom and Teams are now the go-to platforms for connecting people, but we are all now suffering the fatigue of spending all day on video conferences. It's not productive or engaging.
In VR, you feel like you are in the same room as the other participants. You cannot be distracted by emails and phones; you are 100% in the room and immersed into unique 3-dimension digital worlds. Start your day with a meeting in Chicago and then move to Austria, all without getting on a plane, using any CO2 or expensive travel costs.
Training, workshops and conferences, for example, can be conducted as they would in real life with the active interaction of the participants. Working in small group, documents can be shared and developed. Furthermore, unlike video conferencing, every participant is actively involved and can participate as in real life. This technology is already available, with many forward-thinking, innovative companies leveraging VR for future business use.
The Metaverse has arrived, and VR technology is moving fast. When companies such as Apple and Samsung introduce their VR headsets or glasses, it will change the game. It will go mainstream. Now is the time to invest and leverage virtual reality technology and lead the change, not following.
Circle4x supports businesses and organisations to leverage Metaverse applications, creating experiences and solutions to increase business performance and people engagement.