VR, AR and beacon technology represent wave of the future according to Mintel trends report
POSTED 26 Oct 2015 . BY Tom Anstey
According to Mintel, planned VR and AR headset launches will see consumers enter immersive gamescapes with the power to add entertainment or educational content on top of their normal field of vision
New research from Mintel looking at key consumer trends in Europe has suggested that virtual and augmented reality technologies are about to have a big impact on the consumer market in the UK, as well as beacon technology.
The annual consumer trends report Europe 16 identifies the shifts in European consumer behaviour in multiple markets.
According to Mintel, planned VR and AR headset launches will see consumers enter immersive gamescapes with the power to add entertainment or educational content on top of their normal field of vision using devices such as Microsoft’s HoloLens.
The research suggests that as many as half of consumers are already aware of the upcoming VR headsets, with 31 per cent expressing an interest in using them, a significantly higher figure in the 16-24 demographic (53 per cent). 11 per cent of consumers are also interested in buying a headset.
“Excitement would be tempered if these innovations were confined to in-home gaming – and to those players with the funds to afford them,” reads the report. “But they also present businesses with an opportunity to provide in-store experiences and reassurance, areas which consumers continue to value.
“Growing interest will inspire more businesses to embrace this technology as a means of creating immersive advertising, as Boursin has done with its Sensorium ‘refrigerator rollercoaster’. While cost will preclude VR and AR from entering everyone’s homes, it will be increasingly embraced by businesses seeking to variously entertain and reassure consumers, in a bid to win their attention and their custom.”
Boursin’s Sensorium combines advertising with a virtual rollercoaster ride
In addition to virtual reality, the report also identified beacon technology as a growing trend, with the prediction that the short-range location device which transmits directly to smartphones and androids will flourish in the retail and leisure sectors.
“Beacons have the power to bring destinations alive, especially in The Netherlands, where the entire village of Grou has been connected with 100 beacons,” says the report. “Meanwhile, Exterion Media is trialling beacon technology on 500 London buses to send passengers location-relevant marketing alerts.”
Millennials will be early adopters of beacons, with a third of 16-34-year-olds in the UK saying that they would allow brands they like access to their location for relevant offers. The technology has already been applied at visitor attractions, with beacon technology used to offer information at exhibitions about what the user is looking at.
“Beacons will become more plentiful and more accessible,” says the report. “Once consumers realise that they are the ones in control, the technology will be embraced for the convenience, exclusivity, economy, playfulness and serendipity it can deliver.”
Mintel's Europe 16 trends report, which also highlights fears surrounding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the premium of space and time, and water shortages, is available to download free of charge here.
Microsoft will be releasing the first developer version of its augmented reality HoloLens
headset “within the next year”, according to the company’s CEO.
Cité de l'Océan in Biarritz, France – a museum dedicated to the deep blue – has unveiled
a new exhibition using Oculus Rift to give visitors a virtual surfing experience.
Microsoft has unveiled its new HoloLens augmented reality headset, with a stunning
Minecraft demo showcasing the new tech at the annual E3 gaming conference in Los
Angeles, California.
A Brooklyn-based animator has taken Vincent Van Gogh’s classic masterpiece The Night
Café and recreated the work as an explorable three-dimensional piece via a virtual reality
headset.
Numbers from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, (ALVA) show that Royal attractions
saw a huge increase in visitor numbers during 2023 – the coronation year of King Charles III.
Off the back of the success of the first round of Everyday Heritage Grants in 2022, Historic
England is funding 56 creative projects that honour the heritage of working-class England.
Cruise Ship Interiors (CSI) invites cruise lines, shipyards, design studios, outfitters,
and suppliers to take part in CSI Design Expo Americas in Miami, Florida, the region’s only
event dedicated to cruise ship interior design. [more...]
VR, AR and beacon technology represent wave of the future according to Mintel trends report
POSTED 26 Oct 2015 . BY Tom Anstey
According to Mintel, planned VR and AR headset launches will see consumers enter immersive gamescapes with the power to add entertainment or educational content on top of their normal field of vision
New research from Mintel looking at key consumer trends in Europe has suggested that virtual and augmented reality technologies are about to have a big impact on the consumer market in the UK, as well as beacon technology.
The annual consumer trends report Europe 16 identifies the shifts in European consumer behaviour in multiple markets.
According to Mintel, planned VR and AR headset launches will see consumers enter immersive gamescapes with the power to add entertainment or educational content on top of their normal field of vision using devices such as Microsoft’s HoloLens.
The research suggests that as many as half of consumers are already aware of the upcoming VR headsets, with 31 per cent expressing an interest in using them, a significantly higher figure in the 16-24 demographic (53 per cent). 11 per cent of consumers are also interested in buying a headset.
“Excitement would be tempered if these innovations were confined to in-home gaming – and to those players with the funds to afford them,” reads the report. “But they also present businesses with an opportunity to provide in-store experiences and reassurance, areas which consumers continue to value.
“Growing interest will inspire more businesses to embrace this technology as a means of creating immersive advertising, as Boursin has done with its Sensorium ‘refrigerator rollercoaster’. While cost will preclude VR and AR from entering everyone’s homes, it will be increasingly embraced by businesses seeking to variously entertain and reassure consumers, in a bid to win their attention and their custom.”
Boursin’s Sensorium combines advertising with a virtual rollercoaster ride
In addition to virtual reality, the report also identified beacon technology as a growing trend, with the prediction that the short-range location device which transmits directly to smartphones and androids will flourish in the retail and leisure sectors.
“Beacons have the power to bring destinations alive, especially in The Netherlands, where the entire village of Grou has been connected with 100 beacons,” says the report. “Meanwhile, Exterion Media is trialling beacon technology on 500 London buses to send passengers location-relevant marketing alerts.”
Millennials will be early adopters of beacons, with a third of 16-34-year-olds in the UK saying that they would allow brands they like access to their location for relevant offers. The technology has already been applied at visitor attractions, with beacon technology used to offer information at exhibitions about what the user is looking at.
“Beacons will become more plentiful and more accessible,” says the report. “Once consumers realise that they are the ones in control, the technology will be embraced for the convenience, exclusivity, economy, playfulness and serendipity it can deliver.”
Mintel's Europe 16 trends report, which also highlights fears surrounding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the premium of space and time, and water shortages, is available to download free of charge here.
Microsoft will be releasing the first developer version of its augmented reality HoloLens
headset “within the next year”, according to the company’s CEO.
Cité de l'Océan in Biarritz, France – a museum dedicated to the deep blue – has unveiled
a new exhibition using Oculus Rift to give visitors a virtual surfing experience.
Microsoft has unveiled its new HoloLens augmented reality headset, with a stunning
Minecraft demo showcasing the new tech at the annual E3 gaming conference in Los
Angeles, California.
A Brooklyn-based animator has taken Vincent Van Gogh’s classic masterpiece The Night
Café and recreated the work as an explorable three-dimensional piece via a virtual reality
headset.
Numbers from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, (ALVA) show that Royal attractions
saw a huge increase in visitor numbers during 2023 – the coronation year of King Charles III.
Off the back of the success of the first round of Everyday Heritage Grants in 2022, Historic
England is funding 56 creative projects that honour the heritage of working-class England.
Universal has revealed it will be adding new Harry Potter attractions, alongside Super Nintendo
and How to Train Your Dragon worlds to its Florida resort.
Cruise Ship Interiors (CSI) invites cruise lines, shipyards, design studios, outfitters,
and suppliers to take part in CSI Design Expo Americas in Miami, Florida, the region’s only
event dedicated to cruise ship interior design. [more...]