The Power of Second Life in Retail
The power of second
life is has been surprisingly disruptive to the retail industry. Second life is
disruptive in this industry because of the changes in how consumers purchase
their goods and services. For example, it was not too long ago when consumers
were loyal to their local department store for their weekly purchases. Today,
many consumers shop online for things they once purchased in stores. Also, it
was not too long ago when consumers would shop at one store because of the
bargains and at another because of the quality and/or service. Today, many
consumers shop at the stores with the best quality and/or service, but they
expect the prices of the bargain stores. Consumers are able to receive the
bargain prices because many retailers now price match their competitors. At
Target, each store has invested in iPads at Guest Services, which are used to
match the price of competitors such as Amazon, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Toys R
Us. In these examples, online shoppers replaced brick and mortar stores. iPads
replaced the print ads of other retailers.
I believe that
second life is still emerging, with the end nowhere in sight. This is because
the social benefits of second life include the ability to receive goods and
services and a higher quality, in less time and for less money. The social
implications of virtual worlds in the retail industry will result in happier
consumers and unhappy employees. This is because the demand will be less and
less physical services and more and more information technology.
References
Rosedale, P. (2008). Philip Rosedale on Second Life
[Video]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/the_inspiration_of_second_life.html.
