In the rapidly expanding realm of global e-commerce, where sales are projected to reach a staggering $6.3 trillion this year with an 8.9% growth rate, retailers and brands are engaged in a fierce battle for market share and customer loyalty (Insider Intelligence, 2023; Forbes Advisor, 2023). To gain a competitive edge and differentiate themselves from competitors, leading companies are embracing immersive virtual commerce experiences. Amidst this transformative landscape, we’ve set out to harness the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize the way consumers shop through our virtual commerce platform.
AI-Powered Virtual Stores
At the core of this retail revolution lies the synergy between AI technology and the widespread popularity of online gaming. We’re leveraging AI to expedite the creation of virtual stores, making the process faster and more cost-effective. By integrating generative AI tools, our platform can now rapidly design virtual stores, slashing setup time from weeks to mere hours in some cases. Moreover, AI elevates and optimizes these experiences through the inclusion of generative content, such as images, text, and music, effectively breathing life into these immersive digital shopping experiences.
Through the adoption of AI-generated imagery in these experiences, retailers can significantly reduce the costs associated with traditional photo shoots and content creation. By eliminating expenses related to human talent, travel, studio and equipment rental, shipping, styling, editing, and other services, brands can allocate their resources more efficiently while still building a compelling immersive experience.
A prime example of this cost-saving approach is Elizabeth Arden, a renowned beauty brand whose virtual store used AI to complete archival photos featured throughout their virtual store. Obsess used the DALLE-2 platform to edit existing imagery, optimizing the historic content to fit the modern context of a virtual store in an automated way.
AI-Generated Content in Virtual Stores
In addition to image AI platforms, Obsess has also begun to leverage tools like ChatGPT to generate informative product descriptions and scripts for branded avatars that engage with shoppers within the virtual stores. Furthermore, AI-generated music libraries contribute to an immersive auditory experience without the need to pay licensing fees for copyrighted hits.
The true power of AI lies in its ability to enhance the immersive shopping journey by introducing engaging and personalized features that drive session time and customer satisfaction. Obsess customer Babylist, an online baby registry company, created a virtual store that includes an AI-powered baby name generator. By inputting a baby’s due date, the AI algorithm considers a curated set of names of individuals born on that day, presenting the shopper with a personalized list of potential girl, boy, and gender-neutral names based on astrological signs. This unique gamified feature optimizes an important personalization feature in the brand’s virtual store, creating engaging and dynamic content for consumers at a higher efficiency rate.
Looking ahead, the future of virtual commerce promises even more profound AI-driven applications. As AI adoption proliferates, we can expect an explosion in the types, designs, and formats of our virtual stores, leading to further growth in this domain. The emergence of advanced 2D to 3D rendering, and even text to 3D rendering, will empower Obsess to collaborate with more brands to swiftly deploy and test virtual store experiences. These platforms will dynamically render the entire virtual store environments in real-time, providing personalized experiences for each individual consumer.
With AI technology serving as a catalyst for change, Obsess has already made remarkable strides in creating virtual stores that are faster, more cost-effective, engaging, and personalized. As network speeds continue to accelerate and graphics processors become more powerful, the next generation of the internet will be characterized by 3D immersive experiences that closely resemble the real world. In the coming years, every brand with an e-commerce store will undoubtedly embrace a 3D immersive version of its online presence, ensuring a seamless and captivating shopping journey for customers worldwide.
Looking ahead, Obsess will continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible within our virtual experiences. We hope to continue to redefine the shopping landscape, offering retailers and brands an unprecedented opportunity to captivate customers and drive exponential growth in the evolving world of e-commerce.
If your brand is interested in launching an engaging virtual store using Generative AI, contact us at contact@obsessvr.com or fill out your information here.
Citations:
Baluch, A. (February 2023), 38 E-Commerce Statistics Of 2023. Forbes Advisor.
Cramer-Flood, E. (February 2023), Global Retail Ecommerce Forecast 2023: Welcome to the Slower-Growth New Normal. Insider Intelligence.
