Do We Really Need 3D eCommerce?
Back in October, I sat with dropped jaw (as I usually do when listening to a master of virtual worlds) at the Virtual Worlds 2007 San Jose conference and listened to Sibley Verbeck speak about the impact that virtual worlds could have on the state of eCommerce. I had listened to Sibley speak at the prior Virtual Worlds conference where he postulated about the power that virtual worlds could play in the entertainment space, and he was spot on (see Virtual MTV)
But eCommerce… for adults, no less?
Verbeck said the following:
“A lot of the business models haven’t even been experimented with yet,” he explained. “With the right technology, a lot of the consumer experience for ecommerce could be at least as good if not better than shopping on the Web. I think the time will come, and I don’t know when, when most consumer ecommerce is done in virtual worlds. But I don’t see anyone really doing that.”
(taken from Virtual World News)
I was intrigued…very intrigued and have begun my exploration.
The first thing that comes to mind is Peter Morville’s Ambient Findability . Unfortunately I am at the office at the moment and do not have a copy of the text, but I recall a portion of the book where Morville speaks about the fact that it is inefficient to make people travel from one place to another on the web, when hyperlinks serve as instant teleports (unless someone sees this post and finds the specific section where Morville speaks about virtual worlds, I will be sure to follow up and cite a specific passage). I see this as one of the major challenges that virtual world designers will have when creating 3D ecommerce experiences.
There are many other challenges they will face, but that is a discussion for another day (or potentially the comment section of this blog).
So what are the benefits of 3D eCommerce?
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of virtual worlds, and that I do in fact feel there is a future in 3D commerce. There are a tremendous number of social ramifications inherent in immersive 3D environments. Furthermore, there are spatial elements that can be leveraged for various aspects of decor and fashion that could not be achieved in a flat space, but after playing with Kinset this morning, I felt much less bullish on the prospect of virtual world commerce happening any time soon (although I am going to attempt to be a part of the solution if possible: more to come on that later, I hope).
I had heard about Kinset’s 3D shopping platform a while back. I was on the road and installed it, but the install took so long that I did not open it. In fact, I did not revisit until today when I saw a press release talking about Brookstone’s efforts in Kinset on Cyber Monday. After reading this press release, I felt like I had felt after reading so many press releases from PR hungry brands entering Second Life.
Still, I entered Kinset and began to shop, and the experience was very impressive…for a virtual world geek!
I thought to myself, as an average consumer, would I ever do this? Of course not!
In fact, this experience is far more complicated than anything I can do on the web so why bother.
I Love Experimentation
Okay, I was a bit harsh on Kinset. The fact is, I love experimentation and I love the people pushing the envelope for the rest of us, but I am heavily engrained in the eCommerce space (at my agency) and I feel it would be a disservice not to offer some criticism.
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Offer Value
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Why would someone shop in this space if there are no enhanced renderings of the object in the shop?
- Use Multimedia to display uses of the product while displaying a 3D rendering
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Why would someone shop in this space if there are no enhanced renderings of the object in the shop?
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Offer Assistance
- If one of the value propositions of 3D virtual shops is social, have someone in the shopping ready to help
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Offer Creativity
- Surprise and Delight. Show people entertaining things that could not happen in the real world. Make the shopping experience a really enjoyable one.
There is so much more that could be done in this space, I cannot wait to see some of it!
Tags: Sibley Verbeck, Virtual Worlds, Kinset, Cyber Monday, Brookstone
Nov 26, 2007
Your crits/recommendations appear to be what Kinset doesn’t intend to do anytime soon.
1) From my email exchanges I gathered that they expect companies to supply the 3D renderings/data. I don’t think that will be as easy as they anticipate.
2) The disinterest in having an avatar or a “social” experience floored me. They might be having second thoughts, but from what I understand they’re claiming a social experience isn’t necessary.
3) Based on what I heard and read, I don’t believe Kinset is planning on offering anything “that could not happen in the real world”. I suspect they perceive that sort of thing as too game-like and they’re selling a *serious* application.
I honestly don’t expect Kinset to be around long. We’ll see.
My review: http://blog.rebang.com/?p=1399
Nov 26, 2007
It is really a shame as I would love to see a good 3D eCommerce execution that is accessible by all!
I am headed over to your post now CSVEN, thanks for the note
Nov 28, 2007
Just adding my counterpoint.
We here at Kinset do expect manufacturers to eventually make available 3D models of their product. Nobody said we anticipate that it’s going to be easy. But Kinset is not & probably will not be in the business of modelling 3D products. We’re quite happy to support anyone who wants to do this, but we’re not willing to wait around til then…
In my correspondence with csven i said “we absolutely understand the value of shopping with friends and acquaintances, and allowing people to interact with nearby shoppers and store associates. This work is on our roadmap as a top priority and I would expect that capability to be integrated in the coming months.” .. how this turns into a “disinterest” is a curious morph…
Finally, we’ve not published very much at all about what we plan to offer in terms of real vs fantastical world scenarios, so it’s disingenuous to presume anyone knows our thinking along these lines. Short term our goal is indeed to model the real world, trying as best we can to make the experience rich – and yes – it’s a serious endeavor – we’re not producing a game.
Over the last year we’ve been trying hard to understand the entire infrastructure necessary to make immersive eCommerce work. It involves much more than application of bump mapping and allowing people to decide how they look and whether or not you can fly. Our focus has been on trying to understand and evolve a new way to shop online. One that encourages browsing, discovery and exploration. And which has few impediments to entry which means a dead simple UI. I would never claim we’ve achieved all those goals yet.
But let’s see if we can…
Nov 28, 2007
Scott
First off, welcome!
Your presence gives me hope for Kinset, as it shows that you are dedicated to listening to what people have to say, even if it is a relatively small blog such as this one. For that I give you a great deal of credit.
I am not sure if you are familiar with Morpheus Media, but we have a stable of great retail clients, and if you know me, you know I focus a lot on the virtual space.
http://www.imediaconnection.com/profiles/iMedia_PC_Overview.aspx?ID=4606
It is my dream to play some role in helping crack the nut of 3D eCommerce, so i do have a vested interest in this space.
Any criticism on my part of Kinset was out of passion for the space, but at the end of the day, I am rooting for you guys (or anyone who is trying to make 3D eCommerce a reality).
That being said, stop by A Media Circ.us anytime, feel free to email me anytime and I promise to offer and honest opinion from the point of view of a director of an ad agency that has a great deal of retail clients.
Thanks Again Scot!
Jul 08, 2008
[...] How many retailers out there are ready for this? [...]
May 08, 2009
Stumbled back on this post as a consequence of some traffic and thought I would provide some context to Scott’s counterpoints.
From the first email I received from Scott:
“We recognize the buzz today is all about the Social Web. But we also believe there is a large population users who are _not_ on FaceBook or LinkedIn, don’t use Twitter or read Digg multiple times a day, and simply don’t want to deal with interactions with strangers.”
He continues:
“That said, we very much do plan to implement some social capabilities in Kinset during the coming months. We have outlined mechanisms to allow ‘chat with a store clerk’ and ’shop with a friend’. We also are thinking of ways to make the spaces less empty-feeling- perhaps making use of character models animated artificially.”
A “wired up” shop clerk (i.e. a chatbot) doesn’t quite count as “social”, in my book. And “shop with a friend” when there are no avatars seems to me more about non-visual, non-3D interaction than what’s implied by those words.
He goes on to mention some other ideas, but then finishes with:
“But we really don’t want to have to deal with some larger issues of harassment and policing and legislating behavior that many other virtual worlds need to cope with.”
I’d venture those words clearly indicate the company’s feelings with regard to a “social” online 3D shopping experience.
None of what’s mentioned in his comments contradicts my recollection: that Kinset regarded the social aspect as secondary and wasn’t especially interested in providing it. Note that I said, “They might be having second thoughts.” This is because the second email – from which he quotes – reflects my own socially oriented emphasis made to him in the email I sent: “‘’shop with a friend’ – that’s where I’d be concentrating your efforts; even ahead of the rest.”
Given his initial comments, I’d say the “curious morph” isn’t quite so curious.
As to my being disingenuous, I’d point out that my comments include the caveats “Based on what I heard and read” and “I suspect”. I’m clearly indicating my comments are opinions based on limited information. I don’t know how else I could be any more straightforward; these aren’t factual assertions.
Not that any of this seems to matter. I just surfed through the Kinset website. It’s not looking especially active to my eyes.