Investments in Virtual Reality technologies have been growing steadily, and the number of companies within this industry has increased quite a lot over the course of the last years. However, many of us still wonder whether there is a real life application for VR technologies or if it is just a short-lived fad. Let’s take a look at three industries that are already having some great effects from VR technologies.
iGaming
Gambling has been a part of people’s lives in many parts of the world for centuries. There are places in the world that attract millions of visitors yearly for their casinos and gambling entertainment opportunities. Nevertheless, with the onset of the internet, these activities became even more popular. Now people with a smartphone and internet connection have casinos at their arm’s length. The popularization of online casinos is happening at a very fast rate as businesses around the world have to accommodate.
With the number of online casino providers and gambling software developers, the competition in the industry is very high, Alan Smith from www.NorskeCasino.casino reports. Consequently, these developers have to be extremely innovative to distinguish themselves from the rest of the market. As a result, the level of technology in online casinos is fascinating. There are 3D games that allow people to navigate through a virtual environment. The design and visuals in online slot games have become striking and rival the appeal of the luxurious casinos. In this environment, it is difficult to imagine how much further online casinos can go. Virtual Reality seems to be the answer to this question.
Analysts predict that with the aid of VR technology, the online casino market will reach $520 million by 2021. Technavio predicts that VR gambling market will grow by 55% by 2022. From 2017 to 2022 this number translates to $360 million in incremental growth. A representative from Technavio commented on the issue: “With the addition of gamification in programmes for games, both brick-and-mortar and online casinos are trying to make conventional formats for gambling more appealing to millennials. Casinos are adopting VR technology, in which players can compete with each other for cash prizes in spirited VR tournaments. One such example is the introduction of ‘Virtual Zone’ by Boyd Gaming, in partnership with HTC and IGT.”
Real estate
The housing market has been growing for the last decade, and it seems like the trend will remain positive nearly all over the world. Obviously, people are not very likely to invest into property without viewing it first, but checking every possible real estate opportunity might be just too time consuming. Besides that, individual investments into real estate are crossing the borders and today it is quite common to see people buying properties outside of their hometown or even home country.
VR can majoury contribute towards the development of the real estate sector. According to Numbeo m2 price statistics, the average price per square meter ranges from 12,741 USD to 28,063 USD in 10 most expensive locations in the world. Hence, a small flat will cost around 650,000 USD to 1,500,000 USD. Hence, investing into a VR video production will not be a hefty investment when compared to the price of such an apartment.
Retail
Once e-commerce stepped in, the retail sector has gone through enormous changes. Today people are less likely than ever before to actually go to the store and make a purchase. Last year the ecommerce sector has accounted for 2.3 trillion USD and it is expected to near double and reach 4.5 trillion USD only by the end of 2021.
While many people are certainly happy to purchase books, groceries, gadgets and many other products online, they are still quite reluctant to purchase clothes through the web. It does seem like the volume of online clothes sales have been growing, but lower than the online sales of other goods. But VR is believed to fix that. With the implementation of the latest VR technologies it should be possible to try before you buy, without even leaving your home. This will make consumers more confident about their choices, which will impact higher sales and lower returns.
Sources:
https://norskecasino.casino/nyheter/hvordan-vil-vr-bidra-til-okt-vekst-for-nettcasino/
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/prices_by_city.jsp?displayCurrency=USD&itemId=100
https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/global-ecommerce-statistics
