Virtual Storefront

In practical terms, an Internet storefront (or Virtual Storefront) is a corporate presentation over the Web, since it presents relevant information about a specific company. This type of site is relatively simple, but those created by Vortex stand out with their crisp graphics, their comprehensive layout, and their accurate reflection of each company's corporate image.

World Wide Web is a major "advertising point" of the World its ability to offer a "Virtual Storefront" to anyone, from an individual to a multinational corporation, with a product to market. Commercially available software packages enable even those computer users who are not versed in the details of programming to create modified Web sites quickly and at a relatively low cost. "The Virtual Consumer" a reality-based three-dimensional storefront simulation tool, developed by Vision Critical, designed specifically for market research applications for Virtual Storefront.

Virtual Storefront focus by many legal commentators and by the authors of mass-market manuals on the intellectual property and payment-systems aspects of Web site design and operation has obscured the fact that for several reasons the sale of goods by means of World Wide Web sites occupies a poorly-charted but rapidly-developing niche of basic commercial law.

The Virtual Storefront in virtual store is a storefront in cyberspace, a place where customers can shop from their home computers and where merchants can offer merchandise and services for a fraction of the overhead required in a physical storefront. Sell your products and services. You can connect your product database directly to your web site, so customers anywhere in the world can look at and buy your products. The Internet can provide another sales channel to help your business grow.

Virtual Storefront corporations both great and small have invaded the Internet in a virtual land rush. Fortunately, this new universe is big and accessible: Anybody can stake a claim. Retail space on New York's Fifth Avenue may have limited availability and sky-high prices, but any business can have a Fifth Avenue address on the Internet.

In Virtual Storefront Space is not a problem. Even though the Internet's current 4 billion IP addresses, which identify a given computer, may one day get used up, a standards committee is currently working on an addressing system known as IP next generation, which will add a few bytes to each address and satisfy any possible galactic demand.

The Virtual Storefront simulates the actual decision-making process shopper’s face. "Virtual environments represent the future of online market research," said Daniel Weber, Itracks President and CEO. "Vision Critical has created stunning 3D environments that fully immerse users in the shopping experience, allowing market researchers to gather information on consumer choices in a more realistic setting than typical survey research. Their technology is a great complement to your suite of online data collection tools."

The Virtual Consumer shopping scenario courtesy of an opening 'fly-thru'. Once in the Virtual Storefront users can browse realistic-looking shelf sets, which include an assortment of products. These products can be picked up and viewed in greater detail, just as they would be in a real shopping environment. Participants are led through a questionnaire, scripted by professional researchers, designed to capture detailed data about the user's preferences and thoughts.

Virtual Storefront questionnaires can include a mixture of open-ended, discrete and paired choice questions. The visual, interactive format also allows for the inclusion of audio, video or complex product demonstrations with the questions. The Virtual Consumer is an excellent tool for testing product design, price point sensitivity, POS displays, facility layouts and virtual test markets.