Leveraging Virtual Reality for Market Research

Virtual Reality (VR) has the power to revolutionize the customer experience and has multiple applications from marketing to new service development, however one avenue for VR that does not get the attention it deserves is Market Research (MR). While using VR for Market Research the obstacles like technological and consumer adoption factors which are often present in other applications are not present in VR. This makes VR for market research an ideal first step for most brands to experiment with.

One of the biggest shortfalls of traditional market research is its inability to recreate a realistic testing environment. Majority of times issues of cost or convenience keep respondents stuck in a sterile room behind a two-way mirror, and not out in the real environment which is actually needed to bring additions to the research. Virtual reality research is helping people overcome these barriers, lowering the operational costs while providing a near real-world experience.

VR has a number of benefits to offer to research techniques like in-depth interviews and ethnographic research which already offer a contextually-aware approach. Ethnographic research conducted on-site or in the home has a few downsides relating to its ability to fully observe and document all of the respondents' reactions, both conscious and subconscious. Virtual reality can replicate these known environments while maintaining a highly regulated and observable environment for the researcher. Little things like hand gestures or the eye glances become easily noticeable this way. Technologies such as eye tracking, heat maps, and at times even simplified EEG can give a view of the customer reaction on the deepest levels when paired with a VR headset.

This technology can do wonders for companies that are looking to invest in a new physical space or undergo renovation. Initial consumer testing is a must to assure that the change will be a success. VR even allows for real-time comparison of different environments wherein the environments can be changed with a mere click.

Taking the example of the retail giant Tesco; they did just that when they created a virtual store for people to walk around in and experience before it was even built. This gave them the ability to gain much more reliable feedback than their initial testing gathered only through image-based focus groups.

Product testing is also a major opportunity for virtual reality. Companies usually test their product concepts and designs in 3D as a digital prototype. Despite having this highly detailed rendering on hand, most companies still choose to manufacture or 3D print the prototype before they go out to consumer testing. We believe this is a waste of time and money considering the VR experience that could be used instead.

Market research should not resist this technological change but rather adapt and embrace it. Soon consumers themselves will start to adopt VR into their day to day experiences. Brands that are ready to follow their consumers into this space will be at a huge advantage when the day comes.