I have begun to realize more and more that poeple actually enjoy shopping for things on SL, including clothing, furniture, cars, etc. I think that this could be a great business channel for actual malls and shops that exist in cities around the world. I imagine alot of people who don't have the money or other means to visit somewhere like Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills would love to be able to walk down a replica in SL that delivers the same ambiance. Users would be able to enjoy the glitz and glamor of such places without even being there.
I also think that retailers would be able to set up a system where users could be in the store, click on the item and buy the real thing on that company's website. Or users could just by the SL version for a much cheaper price. If users chose the real life version they would just be directed to the website and could customize there purchase. There are endless possibilities and locations to be exposed from all over the world. I am not much of a shopper but I know that there are plenty of people out there who are and I think that there could be a good business model out there to expose this.
Schilling
3 comments:
You have to take into account that in relative terms, if you shop in a virtual Rodeo Drive boutique it's going to cost you a hell of a lot of lindens. Sure, much cheaper than the :real: thing, but can you afford it within the SL economy?
I guess, if you are a rich avatar or simply a "tourist" from RL taking advantage of the exchange rate.
Right now, in fact, there is a Beverly Hills invasion of "ugly Europeans" with their RL pockets full of Euros, which are rapidly approaching twice the value of the dollar.
They love to go into the big name boutiques and walk around with their branded bags, while we poor natives can only window-shop.
That is a pretty good idea of how things might be done in the future. If the graphical web(like second life) traverses along the path it is now, then it will encompass the regular internet ideals, and thus not only buying things will be possible, but other enterprises (such as watching movies (netflix), playing games, or even auction sites (ebay)).
I like this idea, but more from the perspective as an extension of the "virtual tourism" which I've found is actually a (relatively) big business in SL right now. Instead of going to Paris, you can shop in the Paris boutiques in the virtual world. Definitely more of an attraction as the ability to rez the virtual gets closer to reality.
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