Why the Luxury Sales Market Needs to Embrace Virtual Reality

The luxury market has always been a unique one, with potential customers expecting equally high standards from the purchasing process as from the premium product itself.

The resulting challenge for those retailing is how to find new and innovative ways to offer their clients a smoother and more enjoyable sales process. For those that do, the rewards are worth it. By understanding the needs and desires of their target demographic and designing a purchasing journey that meets them, luxury retailers not only appeal to individual buyers, but also elevate their own brand in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

As a production company, we’ve seen first-hand that Virtual Reality (VR) is the ideal way to do this. It offers high-end customers the opportunity to ‘experience’ products - from yachts, planes, cars and venues to tours of appealing retail spaces - on their own terms and in the comfort of their own home, anywhere in the world.

Non-Pressured Sales

As a traditionally disparate market segment, located around the globe and in varying time-zones, luxury goods customers can be hard to reach. Generalising, they also tend to be accustomed to making autonomous decisions in their business or personal life and dislike the intrusion of a salesman. VR provides a way for these highly individual clients to take control of an immersive and engaging experience with the product at a time and location that suits them – and without the off-putting pressure of a sales pitch.

Facilitating a way for individuals to explore a space or product at their own pace - or as repeatedly as they need to before they reach a decision - provides a far more pleasant way to shop. It also cements the brand as one that truly understands the needs of the customer and is confident enough to let them explore the products in their own way.

Interactive Information

From the retailer’s point of view, VR also has distinct benefits in educating the customer. It’s the perfect way to encourage viewers to interact with and learn about products in a way they wouldn’t have been able to – or motivated to - previously.

Giving VR viewers the opportunity to ‘wander’ through the product (for example, the yacht, plane or venue), zooming in or clicking on different elements or features to learn more, improves buyer awareness and accelerates the purchasing process. Additional video clips, audio files, links to external websites, or ways to get in touch through email or phone can be embedded within the tour, providing easy access to important information and adding greater depth. For some, this information will be enough on its own. For others, when they decide to make contact and view the product in person, they’re already a significant way through the sales funnel.

Catering for the high-expectations of this market segment, VR is also an opportunity to build trust and brand reputation. For example, a 360 tour creates trust that the space hasn’t been stage-managed or ‘faked’ to simply look good from one angle, something that is often off-putting in static photography. The immersive nature of VR reassures customers in the quality of the product as well as building trust in the brand as a whole. It conveys brand values of transparency and authenticity, creating confidence and connection with your brand.

Emotional Connection

But even more importantly than education and convenience, VR provides one over-riding positive element that traditional sales materials can never match – immersion and emotive connection.

VR allows consumers to ‘take ownership’ of their own experience, instead of merely being observers or non-active readers as they are in traditional marketing. Moving away from the reliance on purely traditional print sales literature, stills images, or even passive websites best viewed on a desktop, VR reaches clients in a more personal way, usually through smartphones or tablets.

Their reaction to the material is more emotional and personal as they discover elements of the space in their own way. It also enables their response to be immediate – whether the following action is to share the ‘viewing’ with partners, friends or family through email or messaging apps, or to make contact with the seller.

Brands will come to realise that meaningful interactions with a product – even at the sales stage – comes from ‘owning’ the experience. The interaction needs to be entirely the customer’s own experience - in their own time, space and with the ability to explore areas of the product that interest them personally. This ability to control more of the relationship has been shown to lead to greater emotional connection and engagement with both the product and the brand as a whole.

By providing customers with non-pressured sales, interactive information and greater emotional connection with the product through allowing them to take ownership of their experience, retailers of luxury products can reach individuals in ways that simply aren’t possible through other mediums. An audio description voiced by the seller, for example, not only signposts benefits and explores specific details, but adds a further individualised touch by adding personality to the information. Allowing the prospective customer to take control of how often they pause, rewind or revisit the information gives an additional level of ownership of the information.

In our own experience as a production company specialising in VR, surprisingly few luxury sales teams are currently using VR as a tool, and the results we have been able to achieve for them through its introduction have been extraordinary. We’re proud to have brought creative new ideas and led the way in bringing VR to the private aviation world, clearly demonstrating its value in such a high-end field.

The use of virtual reality in the luxury market is in its infancy, enabling brands who engage with it now to be ahead of the curve and stand out in a crowded market.

But I believe that in a few years, VR technology as part of the sales process will be the norm and high-end customers will come to expect this level of service and enjoyable experience to be an integral part of the sales process.

We’re excited to be involved in making it happen.

About the Author:

Ben Cottman is the Founder and Director of Aerial Film and Photo (www.aerialfilmandphoto.com), a full media production company specialising in VR. Having produced VR tours since 2017, Ben has earned his reputation as an expert in the field and is credited with introducing the idea of VR in luxury retail sales to renowned brands such as TAG Aviation, ACASS, Pen Avia, Sonos and even areas of the National Trust. You can contact Ben on 01628 306652.