Reimagining retail customer experiences with extended reality
Consumer brands are thriving in new, virtual touchpoints. Early adopters of extended reality (XR) technology know that immersive experiences open potent marketing channels and improve consumer satisfaction.
In this article, we’ll explore just a few of the ways retailers are using XR applications, including:
- Immersive brand experiences
- Virtual reality (VR) product viewers
- 3D product configurators
- Augmented reality (AR) advisors
- Operations management
Consumer trends confirm that retailers can gain a competitive edge by embracing XR sooner rather than later. Simply adding a new dimension to the shopping experience correlates to 56% greater product confidence, as well as a 28% improvement in the number of products viewed when compared to conventional product catalogs.
In another study, 61% of customers stated that they would prefer to shop with retailers who create interactive product experiences, implying that refined virtual environments signal an overall brand commitment to quality.
Let’s consider some key results from industry-leading retailers who have already leveraged XR applications to create new footholds of interaction with fans and prospective buyers.
Immersive brand experiences
In the world of food and beverage, it’s long been understood that memorabilia is tantamount to memorability – hence why international spirits brands approach trade expos armed with branded swag and product samples to complement their best elevator pitches. Thanks to consumer-grade spatial computing technology, XR applications can now offer a deeper, more nuanced way for brands to reach their audiences right from the comfort of home.
International spirits giant Diageo launched the Tequila Don Julio experience to give fans a taste of the tequila-making process.
Diageo embarked on the project as part of their Breakthrough Innovation strategy, which seeks to celebrate the social spirit of its world-renowned portfolio in novel ways. The immersive experience showcases the rich legacy of one of the world’s most recognizable spirits brands by allowing enthusiasts to participate in the craft of quality tequila.
To accelerate development, Diageo partnered with Trigger XR, an award-winning development studio specializing in immersive branded experiences, to help realize their vision as an app for the Apple Vision Pro spatial computing platform.
The TriggerXR dev team leveraged Unity technologies to achieve that goal. They relied on robust lighting controls and a homemade shadow solution to accurately light 3D models in different virtual settings.
While the core developers explored deployment options for the Apple Vision Pro platform using Unity’s first-party spatial video package, the testing team leveraged Unity’s multiplatform deployment configurations to port the experience to Meta Quest 3 devices. That way, more stakeholders could test and review content using on-hand hardware.
Virtual reality (VR) product viewers
Audi took transcendence to a whole new level with the impressive Virtual Exhibit XR. Following earlier explorations with mixed-reality applications for HoloLens and iOS devices, engineers at SXCES and Govar Studios joined forces to build an immersive experience that helped trade show attendees peek under—and through—the hood of the Audi Q6 e-tron electric SUV.
With Unity Industry technologies, Audi’s XR team was able to accelerate development by porting over assets from an existing iOS app also built in Unity. Once key configurations were swapped and optimized for Apple Vision Pro deployment using the visionOS module, the developers used Pixyz Plugin to ingest CAD data into the Unity Editor’s 3D development environment.
Creating lifelike assets was straightforward from there. The resulting XR experience delivered a flawless recreation of the Q6 e-tron, with X-ray views of its interrelated subsystems to showcase the quality of Audi’s engineering designs in high fidelity.
Building on the success of VR showcases for other e-tron models, the assets and environments that made the Q6 e-tron Virtual Exhibit possible can now be leveraged by developers across Audi’s organization for use in other specialized applications.
3D product configurators
The versatility of XR experiences isn’t limited to what they can represent, but the myriad places they can be deployed. Retailers of all kinds are increasingly looking to immersive technologies as a way to reinvent the checkout flow with personalized product configurators for use online and on mobile devices.
Product configurators solve for common shortcomings with conventional sales materials. Static assets can quickly go out of date and can only represent the products in superficial ways. With 3D virtual assets, customers can accurately appreciate how a product will look in real-life settings – along with any number of optional add-ons or cosmetic variations.
Luxury leather-maker Camille Fournet sought the help of SmartPixels, a 3D design firm specializing in bespoke product experiences, to build their 3D product configurator. Together, the development team built a tech stack that incorporated Unity technologies to model the brand’s full line of leather watch straps with realistic graphics and dynamically generated renders.
To replicate the many organic and synthetic materials behind Camille Fournet’s products, SmartPixels created custom textures with Unity’s High-Definition Render Pipeline and set up dynamic lighting effects using the Shader Graph feature. By building 3D models from Camille Fournet’s own data in Unity, SmartPixels delivered unparalleled realism that generates real impact at the point of sale.
With just a click, watch enthusiasts can instantly swap between trillions of potential leather and hardware combinations, with options to purchase their beloved creations directly from the application window. 3D configurators effectively drive sales conversions and unlock new marketing touchpoints, such as targeted in-app sales based on user location or behaviors.
Augmented reality (AR) advisors
As one of the world’s largest manufacturers of agricultural machines, AGCO makes a mission of building farmer-first solutions that streamline sustainable farming practices and keep the world fed. With so many vendors to choose from, their team knew that farmers were having difficulties sourcing equipment that would be compatible with mixed fleets and today’s smart technologies.
To help farmers navigate these complexities, AGCO conducted focus tests with real farmers and benchmarked other product configurators, where they found proof of the farmers’ recurring complaints – namely that the lengthy descriptions and dense technical specs of competitors’ solutions didn’t convey a sense of what the machines actually were.
AGCO’s AR product advisor surveys farmers’ existing machinery to suggest products and new equipment configurations with interactive 3D models. By taking advantage of Unity’s fullstack development capacities and high-fidelity graphics, the team was able to gamify the experience of product configuration in a way that farmers adored.
To streamline the user experience, AGCO’s design team creates “Q&A” onboarding flows that help filter and display the most relevant product results. Selected products can then be explored in AR right on their own farms as fully interactive 3D machines.
The innovative solution has since received accolades such as the Red Dot Design Award and continues to receive updates in the form of rapidly prototyped renders of new equipment.
Operations management
XR applications can also translate to higher sales through less direct means. In the case of Carl’s Jr., a custom XR implementation helped universalize standards of excellence and optimize facility maintenance across its frontline operations.
With 1,100 U.S. franchises to care for, Carl’s Jr. was faced with the dual challenges of training thousands of employees and ensuring a reliable delivery experience for customers everywhere. To address these concerns, Carl’s Jr. retained technology partner Visionaries 777 to bring their Unity-built XR solution for facilities management to franchisees throughout the U.S.
Accessible via VR headsets and mobile devices, Carl’s Jr.’s Inspekly implementation uses digital replicas of locations and equipment to train food handlers. These interactive, simulated environments closely emulate real-world scenarios and integrate with authentic equipment data.
The XR application provides a simple way to unify many operational concerns into one comprehensive application. Franchise managers can now monitor historical, real-time, and projected usage data from on-site equipment in order to better optimize consumption and proactively maintain large-scale systems.
Real results in XR
No matter how you slice it, XR solutions have the power to reimagine the customer experience. From interactive exhibits and purchase flows to efficiency tools that work behind the scenes, it’s clear that most retailers could benefit from a thorough consideration of the benefits of XR tech.
As consumers continue to reveal an appetite for fun and interactive customer experiences, leading consumer product brands and retailers ought to take note.
Though the technology is still fairly new, advancements in XR devices have helped renowned brands achieve massive ROI with their first incursions into the other side. Expect to see immersive technology used in novel ways by more retailers in years to come.
