Retail and ecommerce have evolved drastically in the last few years. As the digital world has transformed the way we research and search for products and services, companies have had to adapt to suit a new buyer journey. Today, the majority of buyer experiences take place across a variety of different channels, from social media platforms to in-person interactions.
Extended Reality offers business leaders an opportunity to align the physical and digital worlds, for a more immersive, unified customer experience. With AR, MR, and VR technologies, companies can assist customers in making better purchasing decisions, provide demonstrations of products, and even deliver personalized shopping experiences.
Used correctly, XR can unlock new levels of customer loyalty, separate retailers from their competitors, and improve a brand’s reputation. Today, we’re looking at just some of the vendors in the XR space, offering solutions tailored to the retail and ecommerce markets.
Plattar
3D and augmented reality platform creator, Plattar, supports businesses in creating virtualized experiences to enhance sales and engagement. The no-code solution allows organizations to empower their customers with try-before-you-buy interactions, delivered through augmented reality. Anyone can build, manage, and publish 3D and augmented reality scenes, for websites, ecommerce, sales applications, and even in-store displays.
The end-to-end platform aims to remove the effort involved in creating immersive experiences for shoppers, with tools that can be deployed anywhere, and managed from a single cloud environment. Companies can use the toolkit to create webAR solutions, comprehensive apps, virtual try-on tools and more, with custom 3D versions of real-life products.
Next/Now
Experiential agency, Next/Now works with brands on multimedia design and digital exhibition solutions enhanced with extended reality. The organization specializes in the development of bespoke shopping and sales experiences, designed to address the specific needs of customers searching for products both online and in-person.
Next/Now focuses on blurring the lines between the physical and digital realms, creating new realities where any experience can be brought to life. The company creates immersive environments, such as experience centers, innovation centers and showrooms, and works with companies on brand activations. Companies can even access help with live events, pop-up activations, and metaverse development campaigns.
GrooveJones
Focused primarily on helping retail and ecommerce brands to connect with their audience through marketing, demonstrations, and events, GrooveJones uses extended reality to create custom branded experiences. The brand’s bespoke services are tailored to the needs of each company it works with, and can support businesses in achieving their promotional and sales goals.
GrooveJones builds branded apps and events for retail and ecommerce companies, using augmented, mixed, and virtual reality technologies. The company can also produce pop-up or temporary retail experiences, metaverse environments, and unique tools for blending in-person and digital shopping interactions. The organization even partners with other XR hardware vendors to assist with technology configuration for branded events.
Snap
Best known for producing the social media application, SnapChat, Snap is a technology company, focused on the mobile world. The company works with organizations on developing immersive shopping experiences, such as augmented reality filters users can access to try on a product or experiment with a solution before making a purchase.
Companies can work with Snap to produce branded tools and services consumers can access within the Snapchat ecosystem, making it easier for organizations to reach their target audience. Snap also has teams of professionals available to assist organizations in developing campaigns intended for brand awareness, conversions, lead acquisition and more.
VRdirect
Enterprise virtual reality platform, VRdirect, allows organizations to build case-driven solutions in virtual reality for sales, marketing, and customer experience. The VRdirect Studio offers access to a range of tools for creating virtual experiences with a visual editor that requires no coding knowledge. Users can also publish their created content to a range of supported devices.
VRdirect’s comprehensive platform also supports brands in creating 360-degree scenes for sales and marketing purposes, with drag-and-drop tools, livestream video, audio, and text. Business leaders can use the available toolkit to create interactive experiences too, allowing customers to make purchase and customize products in virtual reality.
Magnopus
Content-focused technology company, Magnopus, combines, art, design, and innovative XR tools to create new experiences for brands. The business works with leading organizations such as Sony and Disney, to convert immersive visions into applications and tools for customer experience. The brand works hand-in-hand with companies on the development of unique experiences, using a studio of immersive tools capable of integrating with existing technologies.
Magnopus also has its own dedicated “Connected Spaces” platform, where business leaders can build interactive experiences for both the digital and physical worlds. The solution comes with a cloud-based, scalable ecosystem, components and apps, and a cross-platform SDK.
EnvisionVR
Turning architectural plans into 1:1 scale virtual reality walkthroughs, EnvisionVR focuses on empowering retailers and ecommerce companies in the real estate and architectural space. With solutions available for agents, developers, home builders, designers, and CGI studios, EnvisionVR serves a broad range of companies across the globe.
Immersive experiences built with the EnvisionVR platform are available to access on mobile, tablets, VR headsets, and web applications. They also come with a powerful sales platform built-in, with tools which allow companies to create and manage transactions in immersive environments. Companies can utilize EnvisionVR’s toolkits to render unique experiences and showcase products in exciting ways.
Reactive Reality
Focusing on the fashion and apparel space, Reactive Reality is an ecommerce technology company, built to help clothing companies connect with consumers around the globe. The core solution offered by the company is its PICTOFIT platform, a scalable tool which empowers brands to develop their own virtual try-on experience, generating 2D and 3D models of real-life products.
The company has its own virtual try-on app available for Shopify, as well as tools for physical retail companies to create smart mirrors for their customers. There’s also a software development kit available, and a comprehensive content management system where team members can keep track of crucial 3D assets and virtual content.
AR-TY
Advertised as an all-in-one 3D ecommerce solution, AR-TY is an online platform built to help companies unlock the future of online shopping with 3D product viewers and similar tools. The platform aims to assist companies in saving time on product visualization, allowing both retail and ecommerce brands to create immersive experiences for customers.
The 3DViewer app produced by the company ensures companies can digitize and personalize product portfolios for virtual try-before-you-buy experiences. There’s also a 3DConfigurator platform, where companies can give customers the option to personalize their products before making a purchase. Arty SaaS solutions can also be implemented without coding requirements.
Psychic VR Lab
Psychic VR Lab are the company responsible for developing the STYLY platform, where companies can create metaverse, VR, and AR experiences for marketing, sales, and customer experience. The lab includes access to a variety of tools for producing and customizing immersive scenes, which are compatible with numerous smartphones and head-mounted displays.
Within the platform, businesses can design and build their own unique tools within their web browser, then publish and share a scene on any device with a single click. There’s also a range of free 3D assets available to assist teams in launching their own experiences. Plus, the Psychic VR Lab company also offers training and resources to assist beginners.
EZ360
AV company, EZ360 produces tools which allow retailers and ecommerce brands to utilize virtual reality on a larger scale. The company has its own content management system, where teams can create and distribute virtual reality and 3D content, as well as a dedicated VR player for real-life environments. Companies can even access EZ360 technology in VR kiosk mode.
With EZ360, businesses gain access to a platform which makes managing and sharing engaging content simple, with included white labelling. There are built-in features like VR sync to help with organizing VR cinemas, and VR management tools to assist businesses in managing content across a range of headsets at the same time.
