When done right, the Virtual Commerce Experience can be fantastic. vComm has the potential of revolutionizing how consumers discover & acquire goods. This will also be a test of just how creative brands and agencies truly are. I am looking forward to seeing the first Virtual Retail locations created to sell products for a brand that doesn’t actually have a retail location.
We reported this week on how IKEA is using vComm as an example of proper execution. Some countries are just adopting it faster than others, as usual. In this case, China is a prime example.
Amee Chande, managing director of global strategy and operations for Alibaba Group, said the following during her Wednesday presentation at Gateway 17: “It’s not that the technology is more advanced, but the rate of adoption is a little different in China.”
The Gateway 2017 Conference was held in Detroit Michigan this week, and if one thing came out of the reports we have seen, Virtual Reality is already being used in great numbers by Enterprise in China. Chinese shoppers are already using the first instances of vComm in their market, while North America trails.
The conference is aimed at brands/companies wanting to sell in China. Excellent move for Alibaba to be a title sponsor of the event, having an invested interest in advancing the acceptance of Virtual Commerce. North American businesses were exposed to sales techniques using vComm in China, which will hopefully have an influence on US Enterprise to incorporate VR into their overall strategy.
