Serious Games As Customer Touchpoints

by on 14 December, 2007 - 15:53

Serious Games emerging as places where consumers can shop

Via: Virtual World NewsBy 2010, says Gartner, 20% of global Tier 1 retailers will have some kind of marketing presence in online games and virtual worlds.In Gartner's predictions for what changes 2008 will bring for consumers and retail, the research group also looked a little further. It predicts that by 2010 20% of Tier I retailers will have a marketing presence in virtual worlds. It also predicts that through 2012 the number of consumers using mobile phones to shop will increase at an average of 25% per year.

Gartner Predicts 2008: How Shoppers and Technology Will Change Retail

Consumers
are increasingly using technology to customize the shopping process to
their specific needs. Retailers must understand how consumers are
interacting with their brands as this will have a substantial impact on
how retail operations will evolve in the future.

By 2010, 20 percent of global Tier 1 retailers will have a marketing presence in online games and virtual worlds.

Virtual
worlds are expanding rapidly. To date, Second Life has nearly 11
million registered 'residents' who spend in excess of $1million every
24 hours buying property, items or experiences in-world. Similarly,
Gartner expects the popularity of online gaming to continue to expand.

These
virtual worlds and video games are emerging as places where consumers
can shop and retailers need to be ready to respond to this growing
demand.

Gartner recommends that retailers:

* Expand your definition of customer touchpoints to include virtual worlds and online games.

* Develop trial criteria prior to launching a presence in virtual worlds and measure the results.

*
Monitor innovation in retail activity in virtual worlds and online
games, particularly if you are targeting a younger demographic.

*
Target the right environment for your customer: In Asia/Pacific this
might be in online games. In North America, younger generations may be
in social networks such as MySpace and The Sims2 while Generations X
and Y may be in Second Life. In addition, it could be in retail with
H&H collaboration with The Sims2 namely the Sims2 H&M Fashion
Stuff.

Through
2012, the number of consumers using mobile phones to shop will increase
at an average of more than 25 per cent per year. Gartner expects Asia
and Europe will take the lead.

Mobile commerce has
been viewed as an emerging new sales channel for retailers for some
time now but retail revenue through mobile phones is currently
insignificant, much less than 1 per cent of total sales. However, as
mobile phones evolve in form and function, the impact of the mobile
phone on retail sales is set to increase.

Through
2010, consumers will use the phone as part of their shopping activities
to search, browse, find locations and check stock. Eventually,
consumers will use mobile phones to purchase merchandise and an example
of this includes event tickets. Gartner's advice to retailers is:

*
Plan how consumers will access your retail sites via mobile phone over
the next two years. Decide what information and activities they will
want to 'pull' to their devices and what you need to do to 'push' that
information and invest accordingly.

* Decide if
the mobile Web will be simply an extension of your website or and
entirely different interaction touchpoint. If you want consumers to
access you via the mobile Web today, you must deal with the specifics
of each major carrier. Start out small, with very limited capabilities.

Virtualpix,
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windows, using the latest IPIX virtual tour technology.Original post:http://elianealhadeff.blogspot.com/2007/12/serious-games-as-customer-touchpoints.html