Value of Virtual Shopping Experiences

In Cisco Blog:   Note the mention of collaborative experts in store,  AKA a virtual assistant.  Covered much recently here.   Consider carving out the assistant based on potential experiences we are planning to use to achieve some set of goals.   Some are described in the piece and useful for thinking about as test cases.

" ... We are increasingly hearing about the value of improving the shopping experience by adding virtual expertise to the store. As head of Cisco’s Retail & Hospitality practice, I frequently talk to customers who are exploring this concept – though what I mainly hear are questions! While many are interested in the idea, they are still trying figure out whether or not a virtual customer expert is going to add more revenue to their bottom line.

Putting a collaborative expert into the store – virtual or physical – can actually be critical to meeting the needs of the consumer, especially during the purchase of a high-priced product or for a purchase where it is very important to make the right decision. However, very often this level of expertise is not available in the aisle when the consumer is dwelling there. And yet, the presence of such an expert can be extremely important. For example:  (Examples here) ... "     by Anne M. McClelland