News

Get ready for the advent of 'v-commerce'

September 14, 2017

Customers will embrace virtual reality in shopping by customizing products and designing rooms and shopping with friends across the world.

A new L.E.K. Consulting study, which polled 1,000 early adopters, reveals 70 to 80 percent are eager to tap virtual reality for trying on products, such as jeans and eyeglasses, and take shopping trips with friends around the country.

Smart retailers, such as Lowe's, The Gap and Sephora, are already making strides to meet the expected consumer demand, according to a press release.

"V-commerce brings the potential for entirely new shopping experiences and new kinds of added value," said Dan McKone, managing director at L.E.K, in the release. “But there are risks for retailers — the initial investment is significant, and there are high costs for getting it wrong. Retailers need to do what they’ve always done — look to their consumers to point the way.”

There are two kinds of virtual shopping coming into play: virtual reality (in which consumers use headsets to participate in a digital world, and augmented reality, in which consumers use camera-equipped smartphones to get insight on products.

"For retailers, the appeal is obvious," said L.E.K. Managing Director Rob Haslehurst in a release on the study. "These technologies are a new way for retailers to do what customers want them to — create compelling shopping experiences and have rich communications with them."