- Bonsai Research is now cooperating with VR INSIGHT - for research in virtual spaces in a quality that users are familiar with from the latest games.

- In the virtual supermarket or the virtual gas station, the user can not only "shop" but really interact - even with the sellers.

 - 90 percent of participants say they were immersed in the virtual reality of the store and were in 'shopping mode'. 

Hamburg/Bremen, July 18, 2022. Bonsai Research and VR INSIGHT are now cooperating to take virtual POS research to a new level. Virtual shelf and store testing is not a novelty in itself. What is new is the quality of the virtual environment in which participants move around with the help of their VR goggles, interacting with products, advertising or even sales staff. Photos in their two-dimensionality cannot reflect this quality at all. 

"I have never seen a virtual store as close to reality as the stores VR INSIGHT creates," says Stefan Feldmeier, member of the executive board of Bonsai: "Here, the liquids even show realistic light refraction and reflections on the beverage bottles people reach for. VR INSIGHT shows what is possible when experienced and successful game producers design virtual store environments." This is exactly the idea behind VR INSIGHT, originally a project of the brand on fire consulting company and a game development studio from Hamburg.

 "In our stores, people immerse themselves in virtual reality just like in games," emphasizes Dr. Alexander Kutter, Managing Director of VR INSIGHT: "They don't feel like they're in a 'lab situation,' but immediately switch into 'shopping mode' as soon as they wear the VR glasses." This impression is confirmed by 90 percent of shoppers who shop in the virtual store. Since the tests take place in the studio and the participants are accompanied by an experienced moderator who lends their voice to the salespeople if necessary, "real" sales conversations can take place in the virtual stores - and not just simulations with a chatbot. 

A VR supermarket and a VR service station, each of which can be tailored to the needs of customers from the FMCG sector, already exist. Further individual and industry-specific shopping spaces are to follow. "Through the cooperation with the POS professionals from Bonsai Research, we want to further expand our spectrum of virtual retail environments," emphasizes Kristian Horns.

"Cooperations with the leading providers in the respective field, such as now with VR Insight, are part of the Bonsai strategy," emphasizes Stefan Feldmeier: "We want to offer our customers the best solutions. But we don't have to try to reinvent the wheel ourselves when there are top experts in the market with whom we can collaborate. In addition to the classic option of designing the supermarket according to our customers' ideas, there will also be an option especially for start-ups that can be optimally integrated into our Bonsai Launch Pad." 

Contact:

Stefan Feldmeier
Management Bonsai Research
Stefan.Feldmeier@bonsai-research.com
+49 421 4602231

About Bonsai Research
Bonsai was founded in 2004 as a specialist for test markets, shopper research, analytics and mystery research. With more than 15 years of experience in the national and European consumer goods and health care market, Bonsai has developed from a media test market into an experimental platform for marketing innovations with a focus on the retail sector (including food retail, drugstores, DIY stores and pharmacies). Bonsai offers experimental market research close to the customer and accompanies innovations from idea and concept development to the launch of a product or service - and beyond.