Summary

There is a growing consensus in the IT industry that computer-generated Alternative Reality has the potential to become the next big computing platform. Alternative Reality - which encompasses virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) - could become the next big computing platform.

In 2017, VR/AR headsets were shipped at an increased rate compared to 2016, with several consumer VR headsets launching at that time to help drive this, and it was a banner year for mobile AR application programming interface (API) frameworks. Over the next five years, VR/AR apps will transform numerous industries from e-commerce to social media to publishing to manufacturing design, increasing productivity and creating new ways of working, playing, and shopping. AR is likely to revolutionize specific vertical industries within the enterprise market in the near future, while VR depends on the apps in development.

VR/AR retail applications are not new, with many retailers using them over the last seven years. They can help bridge the gap between the physical item and the context it will be used in, therefore instilling confidence in the user to buy items.

Many of these implementations have been more about marketing than actually helping the retail process itself, and many have been impressive in what they purport to do, but much less impressive in execution. Magic mirrors, using large in-store displays to show a customer how clothes would look on them without having to put the physical garment on, have been popular, and improvements are ongoing in ensuring a realistic drape and movement of the item, as well as representation of its color, reflectiveness and texture.

The report "Virtual & Augmented Reality in Retail - Thematic Research", is built on a unique thematic methodologyfor valuing Technology, Telecom, Media and Retail companies based on their relative strength in the big investment themes that are impacting their industry. The report is Multi-Theme report, covering all stocks, all sectors and all themes, giving readers a strong sense of how everything fits together, how conflicting themes might interact with one another and the ability to identify which companies are best placed to succeed in a future filled with multiple disruptive threats.

Companies Mentioned: Wayfair, Walmart, Vuzix, Vayyar, Unity, Tencent, Technologies, Target, Sony, Samsung, Razer, Precision, OTOY, ODG, Nvidia, NextVR, MindMaze, Microsoft, Meta, Magic Leap, Lowe’s, Leap Motion, Largan, JD.com, Jaunt, Intel, Insta360, Improbable, IKEA, HTC, Himax, Facebook, eBay, Blippar, Avegant, Atheer Labs, Apple, ANTVR, Amazon, Alphabet, Alibaba

Scope

This report is part of our ecosystem of thematic investment research reports, supported by our “thematic engine”. About our Thematic Research Ecosystem -
- GlobalData has developed a unique thematic methodology for valuing technology, media and telecom companies based on their relative strength in the big investment themes that are impacting their industry. Whilst most investment research is underpinned by backwards looking company valuation models, GlobalData’s thematic methodology identifies which companies are best placed to succeed in a future filled with multiple disruptive threats. To do this, GlobalData tracks the performance of the top 600 technology, media and telecom stocks against the 50 most important themes driving their earnings, generating 30,000 thematic scores. The algorithms in GlobalData’s “thematic engine” help to clearly identify the winners and losers within the TMT sector. Our 600 TMT stocks are categorised into 18 sectors. Each sector scorecard has a thematic screen, a risk screen and a valuation screen. Our thematic research ecosystem has a three-tiered reporting structure: single theme, multi-theme and sector scorecard. This report is a Multi-Theme report, covering all stocks, all sectors and all themes, giving readers a strong sense of how everything fits together and how conflicting themes might interact with one another.

Reasons to buy

- Our thematic investment research product, supported by our thematic engine, is aimed at senior (C-Suite) executives in the corporate world as well as institutional investors.
- Corporations: Helps CEOs in all industries understand the disruptive threats to their competitive landscape
- Investors: Helps fund managers focus their time on the most interesting investment opportunities in global TMT.
- Our unique differentiator, compared to all our rival thematic research houses, is that our thematic engine has a proven track record of predicting winners and losers.

Companies Mentioned

Alibaba
Alphabet
Amazon
Apple
Facebook
Himax
HTC
Intel
Largan
Precision
Microsoft
Nvidia
Samsung
Sony
Tencent
Vuzix
ANTVR
Atheer Labs
Avegant
Blippar
Improbable
Insta360
Jaunt
Leap Motion
Magic Leap
Meta
MindMaze
NextVR
ODG
OTOY
Razer
Unity
Technologies
Vayyar
JD.com
Lowe’s
Target
Walmart
Wayfair
eBay
IKEA