Virtual & Augmented Reality in Retail and FMCG - Thematic Research

Virtual & Augmented Reality in Retail and FMCG - Thematic Research

Summary

There is a growing consensus in the IT industry that computer-generated Alternative Reality has the potential to become the next big computing platform. Alternative Reality - which encompasses virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) - could become the next big computing platform. Over the next five years, VR/AR apps will transform numerous industries from e-commerce to social media to publishing to manufacturing design, increasing productivity and creating new ways of working, playing, and shopping. AR is likely to revolutionize specific vertical industries within the enterprise market in the near future, while VR depends on the apps in development.

VR/AR retail and FMCG applications are not new, with many retailers and consumer goods companies using them in recent years. They can help bridge the gap between the physical item and the context it will be used in, therefore instilling confidence in the user to buy items. AR/VR can either construct the virtual context around the physical object (typically in the store) or construct a virtual object in a real context, typically the user’s home, viewed through a smartphone’s camera view.

Many of these implementations have been more about marketing than actually helping the retail process itself, and many have been more impressive in theory than in practice. Magic mirrors, using large in-store displays to show a customer how clothes would look on them without having to physically put the garment on, have been popular, and improvements are ongoing to ensure realistic drape and movement of the item, as well as representation of its color, texture, etc.

Similarly in the FMCG industry, many companies are leveraging VR/AR to deliver hyper-personalized marketing solutions that enrich customer experiences and drive commerce. VR/AR has facilitated new and novel ways for FMCG brands to interact and communicate with consumers, from interactive games to AR-enabled packaging. Augmented packaging expands a company’s ability to interact with consumers and creates a more engaging consumer-brand interaction in-store, beyond the physical limitations of traditional packaging, by incorporating information about the product, promotions, health guidelines, serving suggestions, and sourcing locations.

FMCG brands that fail to leverage VR/AR will most likely lose market share to responsive competitors who embrace this technology and connect with the digital consumer.

The report "Virtual & Augmented Reality in Retail and FMCG - Thematic Research", is built on a unique thematic methodologyfor valuing Technology, Telecom, Media and Retail companies based on their relative strength in the big investment themes that are impacting their industry.

Scope

• This report focuses on understanding the impact of virtual & augmented reality in the retail and FMCG sectors.


• It discusses how VR/AR apps will transform numerous industries, increasing productivity and creating new ways of working, playing, and shopping over the next five years.


• The report also explains how companies are leveraging VR/AR to deliver hyper-personalized marketing solutions that enrich customer experiences and drive commerce.


• It identifies the leading technology and retail players, who should benefit once VR/AR/MR takes off.

Reasons to buy

• The report highlights the big players in the alternative reality industry and where do they sit in the value chain.


• It identifies the main trends that we expect to see over the next five years in the VR, AR, and MR sectors.


• The report analyses the alternative reality industry value chain, and an industry analysis to explain how AR could be the next mobile computing platform within a decade, a competitor landscape, mergers and acquisitions, and a timeline to understand the story of alternative reality technology thus far.


• The report describes the impact of virtual and augmented reality on retail and FMCG sectors, giving out key recommendations to technology, as well as retail and FMCG companies.


• It offers a technology briefing, highlighting the primary differences between VR, AR, and MR.