Experience is quickly becoming a primary and crucial competitive differentiator for customers. According to an Eventbrite study, 78% of Millennials would rather spend money on experiences than products; 55% said they were spending more on live experiences and events than ever before.
These figures point to the emergence of a new currency that will play a significant role in the future of media and entertainment: the experience economy. As such, franchise owners will have the opportunity to engage and entertain audiences by transforming the experience economy into the virtual experience economy.
What Is the Experience Economy?
Modern consumers are digitally fluent and continuously glued to their smartphones and digital resources. They want satisfaction, and they want it quickly. The experience economy forces them to slow down and provides two primary rewards:
• Physical and Mental Connection: The experience economy forces customers to feel connected to what’s happening around them. If they’re at a movie theater, they can spend extra money on D-BOX seats to feel the twists and turns of a film while better connecting with the events happening on the big screen.
At a concert, live performance, or festival, attendees can spring for box seats, all-inclusive passes, or other amenities to immerse themselves deeper into whatever show they’re attending. A connection is one of the most important aspects of any experience. Virtual technology stimulates users physically and mentally, building an experience that resonates with users long after it’s done.
• Active or Passive Participation: In the experience economy, people must involve themselves in some way. That doesn’t mean they have to drive the action around them — they could passively participate by watching what’s happening.
In an escape room, participants actively search for clues that will help them leave the room. At a baseball game, participants passively watch the action around them. At the same time, they’re taking videos and photos of the game and sharing that content on their social networks — or perhaps following fantasy scores if they have players in the game.
At Sandbox VR, we provide location-based VR scenarios for customers to participate in actively and passively. We also chronicle that participation in a mixed-reality souvenir that customers can share within their social networks to help everyone feel like part of the virtual experience.
In the future of media and entertainment, people will gravitate toward experiences that are unique, premium, social, and connected. Premium and unique experiences, which Sandbox VR provides, will drive demand because of the excitement surrounding them. People want experiences they can share with others, allowing them to connect to the content digitally and physically.
As a result, the virtual experience economy trend is going to take off. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait to see the future. Click here to learn how you can become a Sandbox VR franchise owner and get in on the ground floor of the location-based VR revolution today.