Borderless Launches Free VR Tools to Consumers
Did you know that you can create a virtual reality experience without paying for it and without coding? Soon, you can. Coming this fall, Borderless is making available its creative platform for consumers who don’t want to learn how to code or pay a fee. Borderless offers extended reality experiences that can increase accessibility to […]
Your Flagship Store Should Be Digital in 2021
The customer experience must be the central tenet for all brands in 2021. The retail changes that occurred in 2020 have made e-commerce the highest and most important expression of your brand. A digital-first approach to retail is now required to create frictionless experiences across channels.
Can Local Commerce and Tech Work From Home?
I’ve worked from a home office since 2002. Forced into it — and initially opposed due to unfamiliarity — I didn’t like the isolation. But after acclimating, I became more productive, happier, and healthier than in any previous office job. Now, 18 years later, I may never go back.
One question is if that same realization will sink into corporate ranks now forced to #WFH. Could adjusting to working from home be a silver lining for some industries? In being forced to try new ways of doing business, could we discover habits that work better than older conventions? How might this principle play out in local businesses?
Can Emerging Tech Support Local’s New Normal?
I’ve been looking for discoveries that could be blessings in disguise. Just like remote work, these aren’t new concepts but ones that are now given the chance to shine. For example, I spend lots of time analyzing virtual reality, which could be a valuable virtual event tool.
But more to Street Fight’s main focus, what discoveries or business approaches could benefit local commerce? One of them could in fact be VR’s cousin, augmented reality. Its ability to help people visualize things or facilitate “see what I see” co-presence could help local service pros socially distance.
VR is the Next Commerce Frontier. Strap on Your Headset
An unfamiliar sight has emerged among the familiar photos of family gatherings posted to social media this holiday season: people wearing next-generation virtual reality devices. Between the turkey and pie courses, grandma strapped on a headset and jumped into a futuristic reality.
Thanks to rapidly evolving technology, lower prices, and the support of 5G networks, this uncommon sight may soon become a common experience. While just 11% of Americans reported owning VR technology in 2018, VR hardware and software sales are expected to skyrocket 587% to $5.5 billion by 2023, up from an estimated $800 million last year.
The move from tethered to standalone VR stands to change the way users connect with every aspect of the world — including e-commerce.
Immersive Tech’s Next Conquest: Your Car
The real opportunity in VR and connected cars, going back to our primary focus on local commerce, could be to utilize that captive in-car media time with local discovery tools. Ad-supported experiences could be geo-targeted based on where you are or where you’re going. Destination-based discovery tools could be baked in.
The Promise of XR and 5G
As we approach the 5G era, the dramatic quantum leap of 5G service enhances many creative capabilities in XR, providing richer user experiences and giving marketers and developers a larger digital playground to expand their creative talents.
Still, there’s confusion in the market over how these innovations work and, critically, how they can work together. Let’s take a closer look.
How Emerging Technologies Allow Businesses to Merge Their Digital and Traditional Marketing
New technologies (and new spins on old ones) are the modern company’s ally in merging digital and traditional marketing. The brands that find a sensible balance between the two are the brands that will outperform the competition. Let’s take a look at four major examples of innovation in this arena.
Who’s Using Local AR? And How Often?
According to a recent survey, AR users like what they see, with a whopping 73% reporting high or very high satisfaction. But non-users report explicit disinterest, with the biggest reason being the rather daunting “just not interested.” This presents a big hill for AR app developers to climb.
Street Fight Daily: AR/VR Market Grows 72% YOY, How Mall of America Leverages Local Tech
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Content Market for Visual, Augmented Reality Hits $3 Billion… Even as Amazon Lurks, Drugstores Double Down on Bricks and Mortar… Is Google Using GDPR As an Excuse to Restrict Publisher and Advertiser Choices?…
The ABC’s of AR: Always Be Closing
In these early days of augmented reality (AR), we’re learning a lot about consumer behavior and preferences — the same learning curve defined the early days of smartphone apps. One lesson so far is that consumer AR use cases will be fairly limited. It’s not a silver bullet and it’s not for everyone.
AR, VR, and AI Show the Way for Marketing in 2023
The opportunities for businesses to meaningfully integrate products, services, and business information into AI-enabled experiences are limited only by their own creativity and access to the AI technology that can make their vision a reality.