Visual experiences seem to be the new norm. People would like to see and experience content before they own it. Precisely, this is the reason for the Online Retail boom with its 360º presentation of products. Virtual Reality will not only create new markets but also disrupt existing ones. VR will create avenues for‘IMPACT MARKETING’ and open up knots to make Decision Making faster & simpler. Presently, Video Games & Live Events have begun using VR to enhance customer engagement while retail, real estate, engineering, education, video entertainment, social media & networking are investing in resources to bring about a radical shift in their standard operating procedures and creating impactful content.

An in depth analysis of each of these sectors would give us a quick view of the FUTURE of VR in India.

1)Video Games: Video games on smart phones have been widely popular due to its easy interaction and instant accessibility. It’s made gaming on the move a possibility and at the same time its easy on the pockets. With VR, players will enjoy an immersive experience of the same. The technology would change the way video games are played and attempt to teleport the user into an interactive environment. Demand for this experience is gaining popularity, compelling gaming companies to port their existing games and create new games for VR.

2)Live Events: A popular medium, emerging amongst Live & Mass events, that not only resolves issues with time,venue and permissions, but also has the reach to fans across the globe and create an experience of virtually attending a concert. Pop sensation Rihanna teamed up with Samsung to create a on the move immersive experience of her show for her fans. Michael Jackson’s concert was recreated in a similar fashion in a mega event in Remembrance of the King of Pop.

3)Retail: Virtual reality can be leveraged to help retailers plan store aisles and shelves,providing in-app analytics to show what products sell best, where

customers’eyes track along shelves and what products will fit best in different locations.Intel showcased this and other real-time tracking tools for retail inventory and customer engagement. Consumers on the other hand will have the advantage of‘trying’ products virtually before they decide to own one.

4) Real Estate: Graphical walk- throughs will soon be a thing of the past. For properties still in construction or yet to begin construction, VR will be the tool for marketing by property
developers and agents to show the end product like never before. Property hunting would be
over VR virtual tours without disturbing the existing tenants or investing time to hop from one
property to another.

Virtual Reality will transform text book into real world and take students into a 3D experience, where they will find learning interesting with visual and interactive concepts

5) Engineering: Automobile & Aircraft manufactures have been the first movers to embrace VR. To increase efficiency, VR prototypes are built and all stakeholders work on this prototype and make real time modifications. Heavy investments in expensive physical models & space will be reduced and VR will ultimately save a lot of time and money,increases product quality and maturity.Products could be tested with actual users to get instant feedback. Teams in various departments could be trained to achieve better understanding and impact Sales & Customer
Service

6) Education: Virtual Reality will transform text book into real world and take students into a 3D
experience. Students will find learning interesting with visual and interactive concepts as compared to the traditional text books. Learning would become exploratory and engaging.These combinations of Visual, Interactive, Exploration & Engagement would bring about a radical shift in teaching as well as learning.

7) Video Entertainment: TV Shows and movies will now be watched on the go with 360-degree panorama, right in the action. Worlds largest media companies see Virtual Reality as the next big thing for experiencing entertainment anytime, anywhere. With online content already popular and viewing of these content on smart phones becoming widely engaging, it would be very soon, consumers start wearing VR goggles to watch everything from daily shows, NEWS to movies in VR.

8) Social Media & Networking: Facebook buying OculusVR emphasizes on the trend we need to look forward to in Social Media.Social VR would bring about sharing of social experiences with the virtual world. This may go a step further with job interviews and meetings happening on a VR platform.

The promising future of VR will ensure an unmissable and imperative focus on skill & content development. The VR trend will gradually see creative artists making a shift or also contributing to huge demand for content to keep users engaged. Overall, a great and fruitful future for VR & VR associated industries. It would also see a rise in complementing Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality trends.