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At the University of Arizona’s Lundgren Consumer Science Lab, students wearing Meta Quest 3 headsets explore how store layouts impact shopper behavior via a virtual reality “digital twin” of a physical store.
The lab's physical location, which is mirrored in the digital twin, features a staged retail space with advanced in-store analytics technology that tracks and records shoppers' movement via four sensors. Students are able to rearrange shelves at the click of a button, shift product displays instantly, and track and study shopper movements in real time.
"I saw an opportunity for students to learn in a three-dimensional, interactive environment," said Soo Hyun Kim, a retailing and consumer science assistant professor of practice, in an article on the University of Arizona’s news site. “In order to complete certain projects in class, they visit virtual stores and investigate how shoppers move, what they buy and where they spend their time. Not only do we use real data in a virtual environment, but students also gain experience with advanced technology before competing for jobs.”
Guess’ use of a digital twin of a mock store at its corporate headquarters in Los Angeles since 2017 has helped merchandisers setting in-store layouts increase their productivity by 200%. With iPads, changes are made without in-person visits. Digital twins have also sped up Guess’ employee onboarding, reduced team travel by 30% with remote collaboration, and slashed departmental paper and printer ink costs by 95% by eliminating the typically manual process of printing and shipping materials to stores.
Guess has similarly created a digital twin of its showroom to support virtual buyer visits.
Digital twins were a hot topic at the recent NRF 2025 conference.
At one session, Azita Martin, VP and general manager of retail & CPG at NVIDIA, said Lowe’s has created 3D digital twins of all of its stores, updating operational and inventory data several times a day to simulate layout changes in real time. She said, according to Retail TouchPoints, “A digital twin that uses 'physics AI' means it understands the weight, depth and size of these products, which really matters.”
Walmart, Home Depot, and Target have similarly implemented digital twins of their stores to optimize store layouts, product placement, and inventory replenishment, while Amazon has implemented digital twins of fulfillment centers to optimize the flow of goods.
At another NRF session, Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner likened digital twins to a video game. He said, “It’s an idea in your head, and there’s a reality you’ve created, you simulate, and play in it, and results happen. You can do the same thing in business.”