Over the years I've come to enjoy spending an afternoon in downtown Coeur D'Alene browsing the small boutique stores on Sherman Ave. Every one of them is unique, with its own eclectic collection of merchandise that cusotmers can see and touch. It's more than window-shopping: you enter the store not knowing what you'll find, but pretty intent on finding something to bring home.
You can't have that experience with online shopping – and it's one of the traditions of the holiday season.
How can a retailers's online presence reinforce, rather than replace it?
Last year I got the idea that 3D virtual tours could bring that in-store experience online, not as an e-commerce experience, but as a way for boutique retailers to share their stores and entice customers to visit.
This year we're offering Matterport® 3D Virtual Tours to small retail stores. For $375, we'll produce your virtual store, help you integrate it into your web site, Google Business Profile or Google Street View, so that whenever someone finds your address, they'll see your holiday display.
Optionally, you can tag merchandise in the tour with information, coupon codes, or other promotional messages. You can even embed video or narration in the tour.
Tags can be attached to merchandise, to displays, floor and walls. Clicking on them can reveal product information, promotions and coupons, or links to web pages, documents and e-commerce.Â
Instructional or promotional video can also be activated from any tag. Customers can learn about products without leaving your virtual store to navigate to a different page or tab.Â