Virtual Shopping - The Future of Retail
There’s been a lot of talk about the death of the high street. Apparently retail is on it’s way out. In early December 2020, Debenhams, one of the stalwarts of the UK retail trade announced insolvency proceedings. Is this because the format of the shop is dying off thanks to e-shops like Amazon and eBay, or is something else going on?
Yes many e-Shops are doing great business now. But take a look at the kind of products they’re selling. Many are involved in a so-called race to the bottom, with low prices, Black Friday deals, Cyber Monday deals, adverts that follow you round. In many ways these are like the telesales units of the internet. Pressuring you into buying something you’re not sure you really want.
Ask yourself this question. There’s always been high pressure sales people and products. Who can forget the endless horror of double glazing salespeople – but have high value brands ever sold in this fashion?
The answer is no. Because when you understand that your products are the best, or they serve a particular market, you don’t have to force them into the hands of your customers. And whilst many online sales outlets and so called digital marketing experts try to get you to buy in to this way of selling, if there’s a real intrinsic value to your brand, then there are other ways.
Great brands are about experiences, values and service. And this is why the retail outlet became such an iconic part of the consumer experience of the last century. Shops like Tiffany’s and Selfridge’s, or even whole areas like Carnaby Street became part of fashion folklore. Because buying is about more than simply transacting.
This bodes the question. How do we translate the high brand experience onto the internet, whilst retaining the practical aspects of commerce?
The answer of course is virtual shopping experiences that engage and inspire your customers, allowing them to browse products and spot things they didn’t even know they wanted on the racks and stands.
Using the Matterport software, Insight Virtual Tours are able to recreate your shop in amazing 4K resolution, providing a detailed 3D experience. Potential buyers can take their time to look round your retail outlet, completely undisturbed whilst using the media tags to find out more about products. And these tags can carry more than text. Use video, audio and any other type of media to show products in action, specifications and even different customisation options.
And of course, these shops don’t need any staff to run them. They’re available right round the clock. People can shop from anywhere in the globe or from the comfort of their own sofa – they always know they’ll get the same crystal clear experience.
You can employ virtual shop assistants to answer questions, and even get customers to record their own testimonial and review videos. Letting others speak about the positive experiences with your brand is one of the most powerful forms of marketing available – and it’s free if you manage to give customers a simple experience to upload their feedback vids.
A great example of this strategy in action is the Snowfit Ski Shop. Think about what snowboarding and skiing is all about. It’s a high energy, colourful experience that encourages you to push the boundaries of speed and yourself. A personal challenge where you go against your own fears to experience the exhilaration that rides on the edge of control – feeling nature all around you.
And isn’t that experience matched by the colourful and rugged nature of the Ski Shop? You get a feeling of the energy and colours of the people buzzing down the slopes. As you walk around the shop, it’s easy to see the different products, get a comparison between skis and jackets – and feel the real shopping experience.
When people are used to shopping this way – it allows them to recreate the in-store experience and browse different goods. Sure, if you know you want a bottle of vitamin D pills or a certain book, then online shops are great. But when you want to slowly navigate everything a shop has to offer and be surprised by a product you never thought of buying, nothing quite beats the retail experience…