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Online showrooms: applications and benefits in the automotive sector

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Interactive showrooms and 3D vehicle views offer endless opportunities to spotlight vehicles in the metaverse. The benefits? Perfectly lighted product views, enhanced user experience, and endless possibilities for automotive showrooms. Learn more here.

Communicate complex topics with 3D visualizations in a simple way.

The world is getting more  virtual and its transformation is in full progress. With an ever-growing metaverse, in other words the next evolutionary stage of the internet, the marketing opportunities for different industries have also increased rapidly. And this is precisely what the automotive industry can benefit from in order to simplify the communication ofcomplex products: namely by creating visual and interactive experiences. Expert knowledge, increasingly sophisticated technologies and a shift from mechanical to hybrid vehicles and e-cars requires a lot of educational work, which of course means marketing work as well. Dr. Ferdinand Dudenhöfer, head of the CAR research institute, explains in a study the advancing change from combustion engine to electric car: "Battery-electric vehicles show the way to climate neutrality for the automotive industry and are therefore highly significant. At the same time, uncertainty still exists among car buyers, for example due to charging infrastructure, range, repair costs or resale prices of electric cars." Precisely these uncertainties can be alleviated by means of innovative communication channels ¬- and this doesn't just happen in person at the dealership, but also online. 3D online showrooms make it possible to communicate vehicles or even individual spare parts in as much detail as necessary and as simply as possible. In this article we explain how virtual showrooms, 3D visualizations and visual storytelling can enrich your marketing strategy to reach potential buyers, keep their attention longer and leave a lasting impression.

Solve real problems in the metaverse with online showrooms

The automotive industry has had a tough time in recent years: stagnating supply chains, falling willingness to buy, and the tightening of EU CO2 requirements are just some of the hurdles manufacturers had to overcome this year. And as industry expert Dr. Dudenhöfer predicts, this is unlikely to improve in the future. For years, this reluctance to buy has been particularly noticeable in relation to younger buyers.

At the same time, there is a growing trend of gathering information about products online before making a purchase: In 2022, around 80% of Internet users will have started their purchase research online. In the automotive industry, the percentage is almost 100%, according to McKinsey. This means that personal consultation is no longer at the top of the sales cycle. This makes it all the more important to be part of the pre-selection process, which customers often already make online. So what can car manufacturers and car dealerships do to convince customers of their vehicles online? Innovative and interactive content that presents products in detail and at the same time in an understandable way can help to stand out from the crowd, increase engagement rates and leave lasting impressions.

Online showrooms for cars: Multifunctional, simple and detailed.

With the rebranding of Facebook and Co. to Meta in 2021, this development has now found its virtual counterpart: The metaverse, in which real brands, their products and, above all, their identity find a virtual home. 3D views transform the often two-dimensional internet into a three-dimensional, interactive space with endless possibilities. Whether in a digital showroom, as 3D vehicles integrated into a website or spare parts displayed in detail - with the help of augmented reality (AR), existing 3D data or even photos, generating your virtual 3D views with rooom is simple. Online showrooms allow interactive immersion in brand worlds, in which vehicles can be explored from all sides and even customized. Whether it's a time machine, luxury vehicles, spare parts or a detailed view of a motorcycle: rooom offers you unlimited space to put your vehicles in the virtual spotlight and present them in an individual and detailed way.

Online showrooms invite customers to interact directly in a virtual  experience that is fun to explore. Similar to a physical showroom, there is the possibility to present products individually and according to the brand identity. The difference is that in your online showroom, you're not limited by the boundaries of physical spaces, while enjoying unlimited space to display your products. Instead, space is created for variety and innovation. And it's climate-friendly. No matter if 3D space, a hall or a whole adventure world: Customers can immerse themselves directly in the driving experience and thus get an impression of the vehicle even before the test drive. And instead of opening the showroom only to a select audience, vehicles can be made available to everyone online – they can have a first look, calm and without any crowds. If more exclusivity is required, this can be easily set up with password protection.

Mixed Reality in the car dealership

With the rooomPortal we offer a gadget that connects virtual and real showrooms. Through the portal, customers get a glimpse into the metaverse of your brand via AR and don't leave the dealership or trade fair without remembering this experience!

How it works

Why do I need online showrooms in the automotive industry?

Companies want to impress their customers with their vehicles, their technological nuances, their brand identity and their attitude towards life that is associated with it. This is exactly what the Metaverse promises: Nuances are told in a simple but detailed way - and that already online. Visually appealingand concise storytelling takes the place of long, drawn-out product descriptions that are often incomprehensible to non-experts. Interactive content can make all the difference. Even during their research, customers have the opportunity to configure their future vehicle individually, to identify with it by interacting with it, and thus to form an emotional bond with it. In no time at all, a simple showroom vehicle becomes a car tailored to their personal needs and preferences.

What opportunities do online showrooms offer for the automotive industry?

Where the "2D" internet and social media platforms normally only allow endless scrolling, the Metaverse expands the possibilities three-dimensionally into infinity: It allows to create entire worlds, which users can explore with their avatars, visit different stores and thus immerse themselves in the brand identity of the provider. Photos and videos are replaced by perfectly illuminated, detailed 3D models that can be viewed interactively from all sides. And this doesn't even require a VR headset: Web-based platforms like rooom also enable the experiences with any PC, notebook or even smartphone or tablet. The automotive industry has already moved forward on the virtual chessboard: While Audi offers virtual gaming for passengers, BMW has created an aquarium of innovation with Joytopia. And Nissan and Mini have come forward directly with virtual test drives that combine gamification and product experience in the metaverse. This means that the marketing arena no longer focuses only on key data of the real vehicles; it increasingly provides space for a fun factor, a philosophy of life, and status symbols. The metaverse is also expanding the horizon for manufacturing: from virtual assembly and production planning (Audi, BMW and Nvidia) to virtual design studios (Ford), which not only expand planning options, but should also make them more affordable at the same time.

Full speed ahead into the metaverse

Bring your showroom to life in a virtual environment and invite your customers on a virtual tour that goes beyond a simple product description and conveys a feeling of your brand, the vehicles and the associated lifestyle. Environments for online showrooms in the automotive industry can be designed completely customizable and flexible: Whether it's a car dealership, an industrial hall or a futuristic brand world, customers can move around as well as interact with the vehicles and even configure them. No matter which option you choose, we help you to communicate your brand identity and to engage in real conversations with your customers. Become an early adopter and take advantage of the endless possibilities of an online showroom with rooom. In a non-binding consultation, we will develop a strategy together with you.

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