Finally, life is showing signs of getting back to normal, as stores reopen and business resumes in most parts of the US. But even though more locations might be open, people are doing business in a radically different climate than they were a few months ago. What once would have been a simple situation -- say, a new employee forgets how to enter something in a register and calls a manager over to show them how -- is suddenly fraught. How do you demonstrate something from six feet away? How do you deal with a difficult customer who refuses to wear a mask or keep distance? And how do you let customers learn more about a product if they can't touch it?
Luckily, virtual and augmented reality offer solutions to all these problems. VR training allows employees to learn and practice new skills in a scaleable, socially distanced manner -- and because VR training is shown to have higher retention rates than traditional learning, workers will likely need to ask fewer questions.
VR training can also let employees practice having difficult conversations with customers who don't understand or refuse to follow guidelines. Letting workers practice diffusing a tricky situation can make them more comfortable and willing to stand up for themselves if someone is harassing them, and keep a situation from escalating, as well as keeping shoppers safe.
Finally, augmented reality allows customers to get more information or virtually browse without actually touching a product. In the UK, some grocery stores have implemented policies that forbid people from touching goods and then putting them back on the shelf -- but what happens if someone just wants to see nutritional information or an expiration date? A great augmented reality app could allow them to scan an item and then look at the information they need without having to pick up the product, keeping everyone safe.
Things aren't back to normal yet and won't be for quite some time, but as you navigate this new world, we'd love to help you. Let us know what you're dealing with and we can come up with a custom VR or AR solution for you.