While a select few retailers have found applicable uses for virtual reality (VR) in small doses on the consumer-facing side, Walmart is testing the tech at the employee level.
Walmart is using VR technology from Strivr to simulate daily decisions an employee would have to make in a store, encompassing customer service, spotting errors within a store, or identifying safety and security hazards. In an interview with CNBC, Derek Belch, CEO and Founder of Strivr Labs, noted the technology will be used at 200 training centers by the end of 2017 and will train 150,000 employees.
The RTP team debates whether employee training via VR can be an effective tool or is just another tech gimmick. Additionally, the editors discuss what the development indicates about more consumer-oriented applications for VR in retail.
Debbie Hauss, Editor-in-Chief: I’ve been mesmerized by the potential of VR in the retail realm for some time, especially since I first heard Groove Jones’ Dan Ferguson share some amazing VR examples from McDonald’s, Nabisco, Audi, IKEA and others. Although the technology is still out-of-reach from a budget standpoint for many companies, and the headsets are still a bit too awkward for complete consumer saturation, it has an unbelievable potential on the consumer side. In the meantime, some companies are finding a great utility in implementing VR internally, for employee training and education. I think it’s a smart move. Employees will enjoy being introduced to a new technology before many others; and when the retailer eventually adds it for consumer use, the employees will be in a great spot to help teach and motivate shoppers to participate. I also believe strongly that the ability of VR to capture a person’s complete attention while wearing the headset is priceless, especially when we know that most people are texting, chatting, sharing videos and playing games simultaneously most of the time, giving you just a percentage of their full attention.
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Adam Blair, Executive Editor: Being the furthest thing from an early adopter of new technologies, my first-hand experience with VR has been quite limited. (Yes, some of this is fed by a nagging suspicion that I look particularly dorky wearing a head set and gesturing at thin air.) So this Walmart VR training application has successfully won over a highly skeptical observer. If the technology can successfully simulate both everyday situations (e.g. demonstrating what good customer service is about) as well as hopefully rare occurrences (e.g. an active shooter situation in a store) — and if the technology can help make the lessons of training stick — this looks like a winner for Walmart. Obviously careful testing to measure the tech’s ongoing effectiveness will be needed, but Walmart has both the resources and the scale to make that happen.
Alicia Esposito, Content Strategist: Debbie highlighted some really interesting examples of how VR can be used to engage consumers, but I think this implementation with Walmart is extremely interesting and presents a lot of potential for retailers. VR is a powerful mechanism for creating simulated scenarios and customer interactions. For example, rather than throwing new employees into action, retailers can walk them through the standard training process and then test their knowledge and understanding of best practices by using the VR experience. In a way, it can help retailers control the training experience and ensure that all associates go into the field applying brand-approved practices. This also will be valuable if a retailer rolls out new strategies or technologies. They can use VR to have associates engage with “consumers” and use technologies as part of the experience. I’m excited to see how Walmart’s rollout goes and if there are any notable takeaways or lessons learned. Maybe this will help retailers finally crack the employee training and engagement code. Not to mention this may help retailers acquire some great intelligence into the value and impact of VR without fully rolling it out in stores as a customer engagement mechanism.
Glenn Taylor, Senior Editor: Belch’s interview actually shared more than I expected it to, giving insight into what areas Walmart is using the VR technology throughout the training process. When he brought up that half of Walmart’s store management hasn’t worked during a Black Friday before, it made me realize that there’s still plenty of on-site training that doesn’t quite prepare managers and associates for the incoming rush. In creating a simulated environment where these employees can get their mistakes out of the way without actually affecting a real-world situation, retailers may further prevent these mishaps from occurring during peak season. I think this actually could take off more quickly than the consumer-facing side of VR, which has been stuck in the gaming/novelty side of retailing without delivering the hoped-for ROI. Consumer-oriented VR definitely has the potential to make the shopping experience more fun, but the headsets in my opinion have remained too clunky to make it a complete value-add. Before any of these apps take off, the practicality still remains the chief concern that must be fixed.
Klaudia Tirico, Features Editor: I agree with all of my colleagues on the topic of VR…It’s cool! It’s innovative! It’s a unique way for employees to learn the ropes of their jobs! Not to mention the experiential retail factor it brings to stores for consumers. Although in the case of Walmart, I can’t help but think maybe the retailer should focus more about taking care of its employees (like, you know, not giving them hell for taking a sick day) instead of implementing the latest shiny new toy to gain some attention. All shade aside, I especially agree with Debbie about VR’s huge ability to capture and maintain a person’s attention in both an internal and consumer-facing way. This new employee training tool using VR is definitely a smart idea, and could be really useful for many retailers. If nothing else, it’s sure to save time given that VR sessions could replace time spent by other employees in the store who would normally have to physically train new associates.
