“Immersive technologies have a high impact on the consumer journey,” says Capgemini Research Institute

Immersive and metaverse-related technologies, such as VR and AR, diversify the customer experience, and with their growing popularity, the impact of the metaverse can become more prominent.

The new report from the Capgemini Research Institute, Total Immersion: How Immersive Experiences and the Metaverse Benefit Customer Experience and Operations, says approximately out of four consumers (77%) expect immersive experiences to change how they interact with people, brands, and services. Meanwhile, seven out of ten organizations believe immersive experiences will become an essential differentiator in their markets. 

As many as 58% of the respondents think immersive experiences could be most valuable during product purchase or service selection. Immersive technology allows consumers to virtually try cosmetics, furniture, or clothes, thus improving the online shopping experience. Simultaneously, organizations can use the technology for internal operations (remote support and training). 

According to reports, mixed reality (MR) medical training with Microsoft’s HoloLens tool boosted teaching effectiveness in medical students by 60% while saving $1,440 per trainee.

Capgemini also discovered that three in five consumers who own VR headsets or AR glasses are keen on using these devices for applications beyond gaming and using them to interact with brands and companies. For instance, you could browse items and experience services in a virtual showroom.

Another key figure from the report is that 63%, or more than 200 million of Snapchat’s active users, engage with its AR features. Moreover, the extended reality (XR) market is planned to reach almost $400 billion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 58% from 2021 to 2026.

“Immersive technologies are going to touch every aspect of our lives. Bandwidth is increasing; content quality is improving. Computing power is getting cheaper and more ubiquitous. Barriers to entry are getting lower, and people everywhere will be able to create and experience these immersive experiences. As we bring these innovative technologies closer to the public, we have an opportunity to create bigger, better experiences,”

Capgemini quoted a director of engineering at a global retail firm.

The researchers surveyed 8,000 consumers and 1,000 organizations from various sectors around the globe in July and August of 2022.

Capgemini also added that many organizations lack strategies to scale their metaverse initiatives. Moreover, other sources indicate that people are not yet ready to embrace the metaverse, and the wide adoption of emerging technology will take more time.