Today, our private and working lives are spinning fast, and everything around seems to be moving at the same pace. Technological developments reflect this more than anything else. Still, we might notice the overall pace is not that rapid and rigorous. For example, Tesla and Google are vigorously ambitious with their automated cars, but those projects take a lot of time to develop. All other tech trends and Next Big Things enter our lives pompously, but similarly slowly—one should just occasionally look into alternating statistics. The same also stands true for commerce: it will continue going mobile and steadily embrace promising technologies. This year will be definitive to the industry when it comes to virtual and augmented reality. These technologies are changing m-commerce (and commerce in general) once and for all, and there is no going back.
AR – one of the most widely anticipated m-commerce technologies
One minute your fresh BMW is parked on the street near your office, another minute—it’s gone. This is not theft. German car manufacturer just leverages the latest in tech to take car sales to the next level. Potential clients just download the app that uses Google’s Tango technology, and in a matter of minutes they can walk around the virtual car and even step inside to check its interiors.
Augmented reality will dominate m-commerce steadily and rather easily, as it is connected to another m-commerce trend—making purchases with smartphones through m-commerce applications (smartphones will become the prevailing device mobile sales, according to eMarketer).
Another indicative example of augmented reality becoming a significant part of the commerce landscape comes from Asia. Chinese e-commerce colossus Alibaba announced that they are working on an AR game in the style of Pokémon Go, which will aim to drive online traffic to offline locations.
VR — m-commerce trend that will take the industry to new dimensions
Virtual reality is an example of an m-commerce technology people have been dreaming about for a very long time—both the industry’s employees and its customers. Fortunately, a lot of solid facts and announcements indicate that in 2017, VR will finally take everybody to a new dimension in the shopping experience.
Virtual reality will breath new life into m-commerce services and rejuvenate the customer experience. Google’s virtual tour of New York’s most beautiful stores looks promising, giving us a glimpse of what the future of shopping will look like. That being said, Alibaba’s Buy+ VR shopping experience is overwhelmingly startling. It looks like it was lifted straight from science fiction to be presented to real customers. The prospects Buy+ showcases will leave VR among top m-commerce trends for more than a year.
Finally, it seems Google is making determined and consistent steps with its Daydream VR headset. First, two video services entered Google’s marketplace — Next VR (broadcasting of sporting events and concerts via VR headsets) and TV giant HBO (the subscribers of Now and GO can watch TV on big screens in Daydream). Second, the company which stood the test of time with its amazing product, Lego, is embracing VR with Google Play, offering a free lego-builder app with no in-app purchases. Last but not least, the tech giant had just recently allowed anyone to create apps for the Daydream platform. The future looks bright and exciting for m-commerce applications.
In summation, with AR and VR, the future will have many realities—at least when it comes to m-commerce services and m-commerce technologies.