Archive notice: This article was originally published on February 24, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Adopting virtual elements currently widespread on platforms such as Second Life will encourage more customers to buy from online shops in the future. This is the conclusion of a Kansas State University marketing analysis to be published in the April issue of The Service Industries Journal. Because of current weaknesses in the shopping experience, online retail still cannot compete with shopping in the real world, the researchers say. Avatars as virtual representations of customers would be a particularly suitable solution for retailers. Although the technology is not yet mature enough, the internet’s rapid development to date offers hope for progress in this area.
“The shopper of the future will send their avatar into a virtual store that also appears three-dimensional,” says study leader Esther Swilley. Free movement through the store would allow desired goods to be placed in a shopping cart as in a real shop. The avatar could even try on a T-shirt or look in a mirror before ordering to inspect the item. “Retailers will also tailor the selection in their real stores to shoppers’ preferences.” Avatar shopping could also perform social functions. “If one person is at their computer and their friend is at hers, they can go shopping together,” the marketing expert suggests.
Swilley’s research confirmed that people primarily shop on the websites of retailers whose names and brands they trust. However, most retailers successful in real life have achieved only limited success selling in Second Life. “Second Life visitors did not like it; they prefer buying goods from other avatars rather than external retailers. It is as if they think: ‘This is our world—stay out,’” the U.S. researcher says.
“Such visions will not yet be relevant in the next few years,” Florian Langenbucher, head of online marketing at e-commerce service provider Shoptimax, told pressetext.de in assessing Swilley’s proposals. They were so innovative that, alongside technological progress, they would require completely new purchasing behavior from an emerging generation. “Schoolchildren who currently deposit small amounts of money in a playful way will become a target group with purchasing power in ten to fifteen years. Only then will such business models reach the general consumer market.” Langenbucher suspects that today’s groups with high purchasing power would never feel entirely comfortable with this model.
Langenbucher also identifies the lack of social contact and the inability to inspect goods on site as the biggest current shortcomings of online sales. “Social marketing is one response to this. User reviews and recommendations for a shop or particular item are immensely important to buyers’ purchasing decisions.” So far, however, only a few providers have responded to this, the Nuremberg e-commerce expert says.