Which 3D shopping experiences are consumers most interested in?

Retail VR and AR experiences have been a hot topic in recent years. But how interesting are they to consumers? Data from YouGov Direct shows that when asked, nearly a third (31%) of Britons would contemplate shopping in a virtual 3D space against two-thirds (65%) who would not.

From a consumer perspective, the most likely virtual destinations are, well, virtual destinations: a quarter of the public would use a digital 3D space for tourist activities such as scouting hotel accommodations or potential locations for a holiday (25%).

The notion of visiting virtual IKEA has a similar level of appeal: a quarter (24%) say they’d spend time in a 3D homeware or furniture store. Browsing a supermarket in a virtual space is interesting to just over a fifth of Britons (22%), and browsing a virtual clothing store is interesting to just under a fifth (18%). Electronics stores (18%) car dealerships (17%) department stores (15%), garden centres (14%), and department stores (14%) fare similarly.

The public also find visiting a digital amusement park (10%) roughly as thrilling as visiting a digital bank branch (9%). But the main takeaway here? A plurality (39%) simply aren’t yet interested in any virtual consumer experiences at all.

This new data suggests that there is some way to go before Britons are convinced of the need to conduct parts of their life through a headset. But given consumers never knew they needed smartphones until they got them in their hands, we shouldn’t be surprised, as use cases for these experiences grow, by a rapid turn in public opinion.

Methodology

YouGov polled 2,000 British adults online on 19 January 2022 between 13:07 and 19:07 BST. The survey was carried out through YouGov Direct. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, region, and social grade. Results are nationally representative of adults in Great Britain. Learn more about YouGov Direct.