In the tech industry, the evolution of shopping from traditional e-commerce experiences (think Amazon and Shopify) to immersive 3D virtual showrooms (hello, virtual worlds and the metaverse!) has long been anticipated.

The question now is:
Are customers eager and ready to embrace this new way of buying?

Fiat and Kia are taking the lead in answering that question with their introduction of metaverse car dealerships, powered in part by ChatGPT and AI-generated video technology.
Fiat’s collaboration with Microsoft and Touchcast has resulted in the development of a Metaverse store that allows customers to interact with a virtual or human “Fiat Genius” who can answer questions about Fiat’s cars in real-time with the help of ChatGPT.
Customers can even complete their purchase from home.
Kia Germany has also entered the metaverse game with its own Metaverse store, running on Engage, a metaverse platform for business.
This store allows customers to access the virtual showroom on any mobile device, computer, or with a VR headset.
While some customers may still prefer to see (and test-drive) their new ride in person, the fusion of physical and digital worlds was the promise of digital commerce.

Is revolutionizing the car-buying experience the place to start?

With ChatGPT and other advanced AI technologies, customers can (supposedly) experience a seamless and interactive buying journey in the metaverse.
As more retailers embrace this trend, the future of shopping and buying is set to become increasingly immersive and exciting and… different.

Here are five big questions to think about what’s next:

1. How might the use of ChatGPT in immersive digital showrooms change the way customers buy cars?
2. Will virtual showrooms like these become the norm for car shopping, or will they remain a niche experience for certain customers?
3. Could immersive digital showrooms powered by ChatGPT be used to sell other products besides cars (think everything else we buy online, including services like insurance, etc.)?
4. What are the potential drawbacks of relying on virtual product specialists to answer customers’ questions about cars, and how can these be addressed (like when the product is “not as advertised”)?
5. What might be the wider implications of fusing the physical and digital worlds for the future of retail and customer experiences?

Are consumers going to get the future shopping experience that we want and deserve?

This is what Heather Backman and I discussed over on 95.9 Star FM for a couple of minutes today.

What is Tech Tuesday?

Every Tuesday – for just a few minutes – I join Heather Backman (my old buddy from her days on CHOM FM and Jack 103) on the air at 95.9 Star FM to give a quick blast about the current state of technology, media and Internet culture.
We call it Tech Tuesday (and we do it in just a few minutes).

Once the segment goes live on 95.9 Star FM, I will post it here for you to listen in, learn, share and engage.

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