Unlocking the full potential of virtual reality technology will take several years. One student at Massey University is looking for ways to rekindle market research. Alex Schnack has built a virtual store to figure out what gets people excited about certain products, or why some offerings ail to gain any traction.
Market Research With VR Tools
It is always interesting to see how virtual reality will affect existing ideas and business model, For Massey University PhD student Alex Schnack, VR will offer valuable insights. His stock standard marketing doctorate thesis will be very different from what professors have graded over the years. Product packaging can be influenced by many different factors, although their impact often remains unnoticed.
Rather than relying on consumer surveys, Schnack acknowledges there are better ways to get the correct information. Since consumers tend to lie or guess the correct answer, any survey is invalid by default. As such, using VR headsets can offer a very different insight as to why consumers buy or dislike specific products.
With this virtual reality headset, Schnack puts users in a virtual store where every conceivable combination of packaging and shelving can be displayed. It helps to better understand why certain combinations work, whereas others generate no real interest. Marketing has become a lot more complex over the years, and consumers respond to impulses at the subconscious level first and foremost.
Thanks to a new software program, the testing area can accommodate any combination. With a four-by-four-meter empty space to play around with, virtual supermarket aisles can be created in a matter of minutes. Although this is only a first step toward conducting real research, it shows VR may have plenty of potential in the marketing department. Efforts like these need to be applauded first and foremost.
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