Top Virtual Reality (VR) Industry Trends in 2024

Virtual Reality is no longer limited to gaming and entertainment. Recent trends demonstrate that virtual reality is becoming an active driving power across various industries, from healthcare and education to travel and retail. So, if you are captivated to know how these industries are tapping the robust power of virtual reality technologies and the trends you can inevitably see in 2024, this blog can guide you through!  

Virtual Reality in The Field of Healthcare

No doubt, virtual reality is all set to shape the future of healthcare and wellness across the globe. On one side, many clinics and hospitals are providing professional training on surgery via virtual simulation of real operations. On the other, VR hardware manufacturers are utilizing photogrammetry, light fields, and depth sensors to build efficient volumetric VR for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. 

Tech companies are creating virtual consultation rooms to bring the top international specialists to one place for the cure of a serious disease, if and when needed. Several medical startups have started using VR to reduce stress and anxiety for cancer patients and slow down progressive brain diseases like Alzheimer's. Besides, VR applications’ increased reliance on eye and gesture tracking is likely to boon the healthcare industry with better analysis of ophthalmology and muscle-related conditions.  

Virtual Reality in The Travel Sector

Virtual reality is massively being leveraged in the travel industry today! From marketing and branding to customer service, travel enterprises are using VR technologies in almost every functionality. This trend is certain to go up the graph in 2024. With the emergence of worthwhile VR headsets, travel agencies can provide a better customer experience, life-like on the web. 

Yes. Travel companies are intriguing wanderlusts to explore travel destinations virtually, check their accommodations, derive a 360-degree view of the long-haul flights, and see the best locations to visit during the trip, even before booking for it. Moreover, such immersive virtual travel experiences have also become beneficial for getting rid of boredom in the post-pandemic world, attracting audiences beyond those looking forward to travel.  

Virtual Reality in The Retail Sector

Ever since the pandemic, the retail industry has started utilizing virtual reality in multiple ways. Not just for marketing gimmicks, retail enterprises are also using virtual reality to train their staff. For instance, the retail staff are provided with an immersive virtual experience where they have to manage a long queue in front of a virtual store or showroom. This helps retail companies focus on high-priority tasks like customer service while employees can learn to work at their own pace and time. 

Apart from employee training, the retail sector is increasingly shifting towards virtual reality incorporation to bestow an interactive, improved, and streamlined online shopping experience to customers. Surveys state that “VR is predicted to penetrate” the retail industry with exclusive “virtual stores”, and by 2025, the count of VR users in this sector is likely to reach 31.5 million.

Virtual Reality in The Education Domain

Like any other industry, the education sector is indulging in virtual reality technologies to provide better learning experiences to students. With virtual environments, students can engage in immersive content from diverse subjects such as geography, history, biology, maths, and so forth! Not only will learning become more fun with the incorporation of virtual reality in remote classrooms, it can empower many students to pursue STEM education and distance learning effectively. 

The education sector is already using virtual reality to take students on virtual field trips, like museums or Mount Everest. VR technologies are also being used to produce simulations for military and pilot training, vocational training, etc. While VR classrooms are driving students to raise their hands to ask questions more organically, VR headsets are allowing them to work in virtual laboratories with ease. But much more awaits in 2024!  

To wrap up, you may have already encountered some of the above-mentioned top virtual reality industry trends in 2024 and may not have known some. This show shall go on, and you shall even find many more not enlisted here. However, you are certain to witness a profound human-digital engagement with virtual reality or VR playing a key role in the times ahead.