To improve customer experience, marketers have integrated technology and commerce and introduced a new way of shopping. With E-commerce, customers can purchase a wide range of products with simple transactions on the internet. Understanding the multiple advantages of online shopping, both brands and buyers have jumped on the bandwagon, thereby increasing the demand.
According to Forbes, E-commerce sales are set to hit $4.2 trillion worldwide. The global pandemic triggered this shift. Gen Z convenience and novel customer experiences by the brands further influenced it. The latest trend of virtual spaces is taking the e-commerce topography by fire.
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Virtual Spaces in the E-Commerce
Because of the health crisis, two crucial changes took place. The first one is in the e-commerce sector. Due to social distancing, brands have no choice to digitize their offerings to improve customer experience and connect with them. Worldwide, online sales soared haphazardly, increasing the market value of e-commerce and the need for online retail experiences.
The second change is using virtual spaces like metaverse for visual campaigns. Providing products on e-commerce sites is inefficient if there are no product promotions or efforts to improve customer experience. Therefore virtual spaces play a key role in helping brands provide a memorable retail experience to the consumers.
E-commerce visual campaigns in the virtual spaces are promotional imagery which is created by 3D rendering studios like ours. These hyper-realistic visuals attract the right customers with their numerous benefits.
Brands can incorporate virtual spaces in their e-commerce journey in many ways. Some of the latest trends include augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, gamification, and online universes like a metaverse.
As e-commerce is becoming more and more digitized, brands have to mindful of upcoming trends like virtual spaces and metaverse.
Advantages of Virtual Campaigns in Online Spaces
Flexibility
In the globalized world, flexibility in brands’ promotional activities is a must. As brands reach out to new demographical and cultural markets, customizing them is crucial to gaining customers. Personalization in retail offerings is the easiest way to improve customer experience.
E-commerce campaigns created in virtual spaces have enormous flexibility in terms of personalizing them. 3D rendering studios have to do some clicks and everything is possible in the online world.
Convenience & Reach
Consumers, especially from Gen Z, prioritize convenient learning of the product offerings. From their own spaces, they want to have enough information before proceeding to purchase. Brands can create interesting e-commerce experiences that are informative. Together with 3D rendering studios, brands create vivid imagery of products conveniently.
Promotional campaigns once created can be used any number of times and in every part of the world.
Fewer returns
The two biggest challenges brands face in their e-commerce journey are buyers’ skepticism and product returns. About 30% of the products bought online are returned. Due to insufficient detailing of the goods, buyers often suffer from poor choices which in turn results in returns. This affects the brands because of the costs involved in handling returns and related refunds.
3D E-commerce campaigns help brands overcome these two challenges single-handedly. In virtual space campaigns, brands can showcase their products with their features highlighted. More than ever, prospective buyers have more than enough information to make purchase decisions with confidence.
Also, utilizing VR and AR campaigns help consumers visualize the products in their own spaces. They can feel and try out the products in real time before purchasing. Consequently, they can make sound decisions with 3D visualization at their fingertips. As a result, brands have fewer returns to handle, significantly reducing the overall costs.
In addition, brands can also offer user manuals in the form of exciting 3D videos. This highly improves the after-sales customer experience as they are well aware of the usage of the product.
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In E-commerce virtual spaces, products are presented with their best features highlighted.
Delightful Experiences
To keep consumers connected to the brand, marketers can creatively use virtual spaces. Instead of passive browsing of products on phones and computers, brands can deploy fun and excitement. Through VR and augmented reality filters, companies can provide delight, seamless and gripping retail experiences to the users.
Consumers can be taken on a virtual tour or pulled into the digital world full of possibilities using 3D technology. Brands can recreate in-store experiences, giving them the best of the two types of shopping. Also, this creates a lasting impression on them, forging strong relationships with the brands.
Digital Understanding
E-commerce virtual campaigns and stores come with the additional benefit of understanding the consumers. When buyers are immersed in marvelous shopping experiences, brands can understand and predict their behaviors. Through better understanding of the customers. there’s more possibility for brands to create better products and impactful campaigns.
Therefore E-commerce in the digital world help brands understands their key stakeholders, thereby translating it to better products and sales.
Environmental Savings
Finally, virtual spaces assist brands in their sustainability effort. Compared to brick & mortar stores, virtual stores in the metaverse and other online spaces do not require physical materials or maintenance. Also, since most of the products exist in digital forms, brands can opt for just-in-time production. They can start production only after consumers purchase them online which results in the elimination of overstocks.
Also, fewer returns result in less wastage, thereby decreasing the overall carbon and other ecological footprints of the company.
The Next Transformation in the Shopping: Convergence of E-commerce and Virtual Spaces
The world of e-commerce is evolving and the next major transformation is on the horizon. Virtual spaces are soon going to be commonplace in e-commerce. The two realms are about to converge as the boundaries blur. Brands realizing the diverse advantages of including virtual spaces into their e-commerce strategies will reap benefits for a long time.
In short, brands can use virtual spaces as a customer experience strategy. If you’re looking for expertise in virtual spaces to design your next retail experience, contact our 3D Rendering studio today!
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