YouVisit is in the business of virtual tours, offering companies a platform to present interactive virtual reality tours of businesses or universities, real estate listings, and even tourist attractions. The company has a large stake in the success of virtual reality and its mass adoption. The company recently conducted a survey to get a feel for current market interest, and the results suggest VR could take off very quickly, especially with the younger demographic.
According to the results YouVisit revealed, the company suggested that as much as 11 percent of the online adult population has already tried some form of virtual reality. It also stated that another 30 percent of the population has expressed an interest in trying VR. These numbers seem to indicate there will be a strong market for virtual reality headsets when the consumer products hit the market in the coming months.
YouVisit pointed out that the data collected indicated that the strongest interest in virtual reality comes from the youngest polled group. The company said the results showed that 18 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds reported having already tried virtual reality and that as many as 46 percent of this age group is eager to give it a try.
The poll's respondents spanned adults of all ages, though, and the company found that interest in VR isn't limited to younger people. YouVisit said that the data points to one in seven American seniors over the age of 65 that expressed interested in virtual reality.
YouVisit did not distinguish which types of VR experiences are most in demand for different age groups, but it did say that interest in VR is dramatically different between male and female respondents. Eight percent of females said they had tried VR, and 21 percent expressed a strong desire to do so. By contrast, 15 percent of men said they have already tried VR and 36 percent are eager to give it a shot.
The type of content male and female respondents are interested in varies, as well. Forty percent of male respondents were interested in virtual reality games, while only 15 percent of women want to game in VR. The company said women are more inclined to watch a movie in VR, with 20 percent saying they would use a VR headset for VR films. The survey results suggest that a quarter of the country's population would watch VR movies, as much as 19 percent would use VR to pick a vacation destination, and 16 percent of people would use it to tour a property they're considering for purchase.
Not surprisingly, the survey suggested that rural respondents have the least interest and knowledge of VR, though this demographic demonstrated higher interest in viewing real estate property tours compared to those from urban areas.
To conduct this survey, YouVisit turned to Google Consumer Surveys to poll over 1,000 American adults aged 18 and up. Google Consumer Surveys are conducted across a wide demographic and offer samples that can be used to predict trends of a much larger user base.
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