Immersive advancements are revolutionizing the landscape of online retail worldwide. Recent studies show that 68% of consumers in the Asian-Pacific and 58% in Europe are championing immersive technology encounters. This signals a readiness among modern consumers to welcome immersive technologies seamlessly into their daily routines.

Shopping should be fun

Making shopping fun is a tried and true strategy for brick-and-mortar businesses. From experiencing excellent customer service to trying out new things, shopping in person is meant to be fun, window shopping included. Online shopping often doesn't feel that way. Online commerce is ruled by efficiency and all the usual KPIs. But when brands optimize the same KPIs, a few issues occur

1. Online brands can't differentiate themselves.

2. There's no reason for consumers to stick around because the focus is directed towards purchase.

3. Price becomes the primary way to compete -driving down profits for niche brands.

Rethinking the consumer experience in the form of immersive commerce

When it comes to combining e-commerce with fun, the Asia-Pacific region is far ahead of Western markets. The fusion of gamification, social media, and live shopping creates a constant stream of consumer engagement. Immersive commerce is an improvement of e-commerce that uses technology to create more realistic, interactive, and personalized experiences. Immersive commerce has the potential to transform consumer brand engagement by connecting with the consumer on deeper, emotional levels. Immersive commerce comes in all shapes and sizes. It can be a virtual showroom seen on a web browser or a VR experience via a headset. The more separation between the physical world and the digital one, the more engaging the experience online.

Why immersive experience is needed

• Immersive shopping stimulates more parts of the brain. Human beings are visual by nature. We process images 60K faster than text and 90% of all that information transmitted to the brain is visual.

• Better technology around product visualization. Online purchases are 3x more likely to see product returns than in-store purchases.

• Open the door to gamification and interaction. Brands including Sephora, Maybelline, and L'Oréal are using augmented reality to help customers try on makeup virtually. The experience is fun and serves a functional purpose.

  
  

The evolution of e-commerce is already happening now and we're seeing breakthroughs daily. The future of the internet is an immersive one. Now is the time for brands to experiment and implement immersive commerce to future-proof their business.