Innovations In Immersive Tech To Watch
There are still a few weeks left in 2022, but the business world is already looking ahead to 2023 and anticipating the opportunities, threats, and challenges that will be present there.
Immersive technology and the various ways it is anticipated to affect business in the short and long term are among the main subjects of discussion. The next big innovation will be something like virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D, or the metaverse, according to headlines and newsletters. One may argue that any or all of these technologies will advance in 2023, but this depends on the spark of forward-thinking thinkers in the field.
Five of these innovators were interviewed to find out what they think will happen to VR, AR, and the metaverse in 2023. What they said was as follows.
“Technology will continue to impact brands’ relationships with customers in 2023. While forward-thinking brands embrace technology to create immersive brand experiences, they need to focus on the human element of those consumer interactions. The use of this technology is projected to accelerate over the next year, and brands that facilitate the growth of the human ecosystem required to support it will win in the end. While the technology is cool and empowers consumers to experience brands in ways they never could before or could previously do only in physical settings, brands need to remember that their technology is NOT their brand. Brand leaders need to look beyond using technology to power transactions in a mixed reality universe to using technology to foster authentic, meaningful, emotional connections that power long-term trust. Customers are human, and humans value experiences over products. While virtual try-ons and 3D product views can accelerate real-time purchase decisions, they barely scratch the surface of what’s possible with technology for enhancing customers’ use of their products. Brands focused on long-term brand growth can use Metaverse applications for everything from advertising and entertainment to community building and immersive online support experiences that make brands indispensable to their customers beyond initial transactions”.
Deb Gabor, CEO, Sol Marketing
“More than ever, people are experiencing brands & their products for the first time digitally. The internet has created an infinite store shelf, with an endless variety of products available to be viewed and explored by buyers. To stand out brands must exceed the expectations of consumers in product presentation when compared to both physical retail and competing products in the digital sphere. We expect to see an increasing number of brands turning to 3D and augmented reality to drive engaging product experiences that convert. Those already leveraging 3D & AR are seeing meaningful results in KPIs such as time spent, conversions, and reductions in returns.”
Brant McLean, VP Sales, Dopple
“One key question is, will an economic downturn help or hurt XR? There are some segments that could hurt (consumer VR given that it’s discretionary spending). Other areas could benefit, such as enterprise AR and being more effective with less headcount using things like remote support. Also, in AR marketing; downturns tend to favor emerging and performance-based formats as brands and agencies are forced to rethink their media mix. We saw that happen with search (following dot-com bust) and social (following financial crisis).
Speaking of the macro-economic environment, will that finally ignite the backlash to metaverse mania. I predicted it would happen in 2022 and was dead wrong. But the backlash seems primed now as the metaverse is getting tired as a buzzword, and there’s no immediate gratification (the tech press and mainstream consumers have short attention spans). Moreover, in economic downturns, there may not be as much patience for frivolous future-gazing as opposed to focusing on concrete business results today.”
Mike Boland, Founder, ARtillery Intelligence, Editor, AR Insider
Via AR Insider, “We have only created suggestions of augmented reality experiences. Pointing out the gap between augmented reality and augmented virtuality is about elevating the conversation of experience design and not the sport of pedantically parsing terminology.
We are in an exciting time for mixed reality. No established rules or conventions firmly exist. We are in the process of feeling them out. Certainly, we will make bad choices, but we will also make fundamental ones that will define the future of human-computer interactions in mixed reality.”
Jarrett Webb, Technology Director, argo design
“Buyers seek and adopt better experiences, and sellers are looking for efficiencies in purchase. 3D and AR enable immersive experiences that deliver against consumers’ increased expectations, while improving the seller’s results for their most important KPIs; namely, higher, more profitable conversion rates, lower returns, and happier customers.The return on investment on 3D and AR is no longer in question, the results have been seen and shared by the largest big box retailers, all the way down to sole proprietorships and startups operating on the most popular ecommerce platforms.”
Justin Scott, CEO, Dopple
Beginning in 2023, use 3D and augmented reality
According to a NielsenIQ poll, 61% of consumers prefer to purchase at stores that offer augmented reality (AR) experiences, and by 2025, it’s predicted that sales impacted by augmented reality (AR) product visualisation would top $57 billion. Contact Dopple right away to learn more about visual commerce and immersive brand experiences.
