**Virtual Human ‘Families’ Emerge in Retail Industry **
Virtual humans, including those represented as ‘families,’ are increasingly seen in the retail industry. As the virtual human market is projected to reach 14 trillion won ($12.44 billion) by 2025, retail companies are employing more virtual humans as models, which now also include virtual human families composed of a father, mother, daughter, and son.
According to industry sources on the 24th, Dongwon F&B selected the ‘Fresh Family,’ a family concept virtual human, as the model for its premium dairy brand ‘Denmark.’ This marks the first time a virtual human family has been used as a brand model in South Korea.
Dongwon F&B explained that it selected a virtual human model to appeal to the MZ generation, who are familiar with the virtual world and value unique experiences. The company plans to actively communicate with the MZ generation while establishing the world view of the Denmark brand through online and offline marketing activities.
The use of virtual humans as show hosts is also on the rise. From this month, SSG.com appointed the virtual influencer YT as the official host of ‘SSG.TV’ and released a video of ‘MD Talk,’ a fabric softener brand Downy, featuring YT. YT was created in collaboration with Shinsegae Group and the graphics specialist company Pulse Nine.
Lotte Home Shopping is also actively using its own virtual human, Lucy. In November of last year, Lucy was selected as the promotional model for Lotte Hotel content. In December, she was appointed as a live commerce host capable of real-time communication. The first live commerce broadcast conducted by Lucy sold out its product within 25 minutes.
According to an industry insider, with recent controversies surrounding home shopping hosts’ verbal mistakes, it’s expected that shopping content featuring virtual humans will continue to increase. In particular, cases where companies develop their own virtual humans, hold IP rights, and focus on company marketing are expected to grow.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg in the United States predicted that the current virtual human market, estimated at 2 trillion won ($1.78 billion), will grow to 14 trillion won by 2025, potentially surpassing the projected influencer market of around 13 trillion won.
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