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13 Mind-Blowing Virtual Tour Statistics [Updated for 2024]

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Virtual tours are a new form of marketing that allows customers to experience services or products by a retailer in a virtual environment. 

Thanks to the evolution of digital photography and virtual imaging, 360 photos and virtual tours are readily available.

Here’s the deal: 

A virtual tour can improve a business, as it gives a sense of luxury, builds more trust with customers, and increases engagement with the brand’s website, virtual tour statistics confirm.

So, it should come as no surprise that virtual tours are all the rage these days. And we’ve got the stats and facts to prove it.

Let’s dive right in.

Exciting 360 Video Statistics (Editor’s Choice)

  • Customers aged 18 to 34 are 130% more likely to book a place if there is a virtual tour.
  • 50% of adult users on the internet rely on virtual tours in their research and decision-making process.
  • Customers spend 5 to 10 times more on websites with virtual tours.
  • 67% of people want more businesses to offer virtual tours.
  • There are more than 5 million visits daily on worldwide virtual tours.
  • Virtual tours increase a business listing’s interest by two-fold.
  • You can go on a tour of the White House from the comfort of your own home.

What Is  Virtual Tour?: General Virtual Tour Statistics

Virtual tours are composed as a sequence of still images or videos that give you a simulation of an existing location. 

Then, additional multimedia elements, such as music, narration, and sound effects, are added to stimulate the user’s other stimuli. 

Today, virtual tours, live streaming, and video conferencing used as marketing tools by real estate companies, hotels, or any business that can benefit from them.

1. Virtual tours attract customers in the 18 to 34 years age group, as they are 130% more likely to book based on a virtual tour.

(Reimagine Main Street)

Millennials are at the forefront of this new marketing technology, as they are more like to book a venue or use a service if the business website offers a virtual tour.

2. Half of all adults on the internet rely on virtual tours for product and service research regularly.

(TIG Global)

Businesses that offer virtual tours enjoy increased bookings and look-to-book conversion ratios by 16% to 67%. The more engaging the media, having a voice-over, adding background music, animation, or video, the higher the conversion rate.

3. Websites with virtual tours receive 5 to 10 times longer views than those without, virtual tour statistics reveal.

(Leonardo Worldwide)

A virtual tour is appealing because it makes your customers feel like they’re walking through the actual experience. It allows customers to engage while playing around the virtual playground you’ve created. 

And, of course, this is why customers usually spend a long time exploring your virtual tour until they are satisfied with their research.

4. Two out of three customers know what is a virtual tour and want more businesses to offer them.

(Seek Beak)

Among survey participants, 67% would like to see more virtual tour opportunities. 26% are indifferent, and only 7% feel that virtual tours were not necessary. What this means is customers truly appreciate virtual tours on company websites.

5. There are over five million visits on virtual tours every day worldwide, virtual tour statistics confirm.

(Panomatics)

The demand for virtual tours exists simply because it’s a great and innovative tool for both businesses and customers. Customers can enjoy peace of mind while they get a virtual feel of a business or service. It also helps to build a bond of trust between the business and its customers. 

And it doesn’t just end here:

Virtual tours also attract new customers. Visitors tend to spend a long time on sites with virtual tours, which has the potential to increase sales and site traffic.

6. A virtual tour helps listings double interest.

(Christian Parley)

Customers who go through a virtual tour are twice as likely to make a reservation. Additionally, stats about Google reveal that businesses with Google virtual tours have a 16% higher chance of appearing in Google Search or Google Maps.

7. Matterport, a virtual tour company, reveals that 90% of its clients have a strong brand presence in the marketplace.

(Matterport)

Matterport’s clients have good marketing results, as the overwhelming majority reported stronger brand visibility.

What’s more:

83% of these companies claim to have a more competitive edge, and 74% claim to win more listings after employing Matterport.

Key takeaway:

A well-made virtual tour can make all the difference in today’s competitive market.

8. Google prefers displaying virtual images as thumbnails with a two to one ratio.

(Laurels Tech)

If your site has a virtual tour on your Google My Business listing, Google will favor your 360 thumbnails as thumbnail displays on search results. So, an easy way to gain visibility is to use 360 posts or virtual tours. 

The thing is:

Google virtual tours can also influence your listing’s strength or visibility in organic search. In fact, map listings that have a Google virtual tour see a 12% increase in engagement.

Virtual Tours Real Estate Statistics

The digital age has revolutionized various industries, and the real estate industry is no different.

With apps, software, and the possibility of real estate 360 virtual tours, the real estate game has changed tremendously. Buyers have apps that can tell them the exact locations of available listings.

With virtual playgrounds, they can get a feel of the place before the actual viewing.

What’s more: 

Virtual tours can also help minimize workload since customers usually do their own virtual viewings online and narrow down the listings they want to view in person. 

Let’s look at some real estate video statistics to see how much virtual tour benefits real estate companies.

9. 92% of prospective home buyers research on the internet before reaching out to an agent.

(Matterport)

Most customers check online before making any purchase decision, especially for the real estate industry. 

So, real estate industries should provide as much information as possible on their websites and also include a virtual tour website to provide customers with the full experience.

10. 50% of adult internet users in the US have taken a virtual tour.

(Nar Realtor)

Half of US adults find virtual tours very useful in making their decision about a real estate listing. Click To Tweet

In fact, 54% of these buyers will not even look at a property unless it offers virtual images. 

Good quality real estate pictures are everything when it comes to real estate listings, as 89% of people find them very useful together, with 85% who prefer detailed property information. 

Real estate photography statistics show that 80.2% of participants say a listing’s front picture is more influential. However, more and more consumers are moving towards virtual tours for real estate listings, as they help them to make a better-informed decision than pure images.

11. Virtual tours reduce wasted viewings by 40%.

(Medium)

Virtual tours are more effective in helping customers make a real estate decision. And this shows, especially when we look at the significantly reduced percentage of wasted viewing.

Real estate 360 virtual tour statistics reveal that 75% of customer decision making is affected by a virtual tour. 

Fun Virtual Tour Statistics

Besides the real estate industry, other industries are also looking for ways to take advantage of this new technology. For example, hotels are using virtual tours to increase look-to-book ratios significantly. 

Let’s see how other industries are using virtual tours to enhance their businesses.

12. In 2016, 63% of travel sites posted at least one 360 photo or video.

(Social Bakers)

Outside the real estate industry, travel companies are also taking advantage of virtual tours by giving customers a glimpse into the real deal. 360 photos and videos are a fun way for customers to explore a location or a room to get more information before booking. 

After travel companies, the automotive industry also publishes a lot of 360 posts, as there were 54% of company pages with 360 tours. 

On the other hand:

The fashion and beauty industry only had 10% of posts consisting of 360 posts. The study also found that Facebook users find 360-degree photos significantly more engaging than regular photos.

13. You can get a tour of the White House from the comfort of your own home.

(The White House)

Since 2012, you can go on a White House virtual tour 360  in your underwear in the comfort of your own home. Since President Obama entered the US office, he and the First Lady focused on opening the White House doors to the public. 

The 360-degree tour of the White House uses Google’s Street View technology, which allows visitors to navigate through the public rooms in high resolution.

White House virtual tour statistics

FAQ

Q: Are virtual tours worth it? 

Based on a 2017 study by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), almost everyone uses the internet to find listings. At the forefront of this are Millennials, as 99% of them use the internet for their research. 

Among them, 89% of customers found photos very useful, whereas 50% preferred virtual tours. Although interactive virtual tours are not exactly essential in helping a listing sell, many customers prefer them as a form of added service. 

Especially for listings with out-of-state buyers, such as popular vacation spots or secluded Airbnb, virtual tours can help customers decide on the listing without having to travel. If you don’t offer virtual tours, you’re missing out on a whole other client base. 

Q: How are virtual tours useful?

Virtual tours benefit all kinds of businesses that want to advertise their knowledge, build bonds and credibility with customers, and improve online search engine results. 

There are many reasons why virtual tours are a hot commodity right now. Among other things, they’re fun, and they use a form of media that is exciting and appealing to customers. 

A 360 tour can guide prospective customers through the interior of your virtual playground. Going through this virtual tour can even illustrate the unique atmosphere of the space. 

Q: How much is a virtual tour?

How much it takes to produce a virtual tour depends on the quality. The lowest budget is to use 360 degree photographs. But if you want to create a good quality virtual tour experience, you’ll need good photography equipment, which will cost a few more bucks. 

You can create low budget photographic-based tours from as low as $75. And as for virtual videos, your equipment will vary depending on whether you’re a consumer or a professional. You can easily find 360-degree consumer video cameras on the market for between $50 and $250

Professionals will need 4K equipment and much more. There’s generally no threshold on how much you can spend to produce a virtual video, as there are many elements to consider. 

You can, however, budget yourselves and find something from $300 to $1,000.

Q: How do I make a virtual tour of my house? 

Today, creating your own virtual tour is easier than ever. You can easily create 360 virtual tours from an iPhone using the Zillow 3D Home app that uses your iPhone’s panoramic camera feature. 

All you need to do is install the app and follow the instructions to create your very own virtual tour that will look similar to the Google Maps Street View. Your users can now click and drag their way through your home – just make sure you hide your dirty laundry first! 

Conclusion

Virtual tours provide customers with meaningful information, allowing them to view any site in the world in vivid detail. 

Even if you are in London and you want to plan a holiday in Asia, virtual tours give you a feel of the real thing in Point Of View (POV) manner. And with virtual reality on the rise, today, you can even go on virtual reality tours!

The latest virtual tour statistics are clear:

It’s an added service that customers appreciate. Companies can capitalize on it to boost brand visibility and sales.

So, have you been on any virtual tours lately?

Sources: