Today’s immersive hardware customers have ever-increasing access to sleeker, more engaging virtual Reality (VR) experiences and marketplace statistics reflect that interest.
Over the last couple of years, VR has grown so dramatically users see the technology in all areas of life. Thanks to increasing consumer and enterprise brands, the immersive market is growing with use cases that cover retail, tourism, training, and much more.
According to a report by Emerged Research, VR technology will propel the extended reality (XR) market to roughly $1,246.57 billion by 2025. Moreover, the report forecasts the XR marketplace’s CAGR will jump to 24.2 percent in the same year.
VR opportunities are now more extensive and more exciting than ever. VR already has a chance to enhance consumer interactions, strengthen collaboration, and build new ideas.
Building a Business Case for Virtual Reality
VR isn’t just a sci-fi concept or a strategy for gaming hardware anymore. A significant portion of the virtual reality market still belongs to the consumer space. But demand for this content is growing. Research suggests that around 171 million people are using VR worldwide.
The unique promises of VR technology make it an inspiring option for many reasons. The immersive industry is continuing to experiment with the idea of being able to interact with colleagues in new and exciting ways digitally. Now, AI technology, 5G, and visual screens are more impressive than ever. Computing on edge and faster connections mean that VR innovators can deliver high-quality immersive experiences.
It’s not just the rapid technological increase contributing to the VR revolution. The number of VR start-ups has increased by more than 14% in less than a year, with further growth incoming.
Temporarily disruptive immersive industry events such as social media stock crashes, Meta’s reshuffling, and Bytedance’s FTC investigation led to roadblocks. However, clients are still adopting VR technology as a more accessible and safer way to bring teams. Immersive collaboration services can enhance creative innovation and business development.
Top 10 Need-to-Know Facts about Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is currently among the most exciting disruptive technology options today. The global shipments of consumer unit VR headsets in 2022 amounted to around 15.49 million, even with the global economic downfall taking full effect.
Here are some of the crucial facts covering VR’s potential:
- Between 2021 and 2028, the market’s CAGR (Compound annual growth rate) will reach around 31.4% overall. During these seven years, experts forecast VR to accelerate into all industries, from retail to healthcare.
- In 2020, roughly 57.4 people owned a VR headset in the US, although in 2022, this figure increased by 37.7 million. Experts believe that demand for VR headsets will increase due to the increased enterprise, industry, and education adoption.
- Moreover, reports indicate that roughly 78 percent of Americans are already familiar with VR technology. Therefore, XR onboarding processes and training sessions will require less time and effort, thanks to increasingly aware generations.
- Economists believe that VR and AR technology will generate new economic opportunities worldwide. Currently, roughly 80,000 jobs exist, with projections forecasting a further 2.32 million by 2030.
- Moreover, analysts believe the demand for VR devices will increase by 16 times leading into 2023.
Top Statistics to Support Business Use Cases
Virtually all vertical markets can leverage the benefits of enterprise-grade VR solutions.
According to Emerged Research, industrial and retail XR solutions will drive the immersive marketplace. Traditionally the gaming space fueled VR innovation. Although immersive technology is creeping into new use cases. Now, VR gaming is not the only sector pushing the industry forward.
Opportunities are emerging in other landscapes too. Here are some VR statistics to support business use cases.
- Outside of gaming, the sectors experiencing the most growth in VR and AR are workforce development 24 per cent, manufacturing 21 percent, automotive 19 per cent, and marketing & advertising 16 percent.
- Insiders report VR as crucial for increasing student attention during classroom sessions. Reports claim that VR education tools can increase a student’s retention of information by roughly 71 percent.
- According to some studies, the engineering industry will see the most significant benefits from VR, thanks to a reduction in model design time of 10% and a 7% reduction in construction time.
- According to Swagsoft, VR can increase eCommerce conversion rates from just 2 percent to 17 percent. The number solidifies the technologies popularity as a marketing tool. Smartphone applications with integrated AR-lite features, like Snapchat and Instagram, allow buyers to interact with a chosen brand through games, filters, and digital goods.