Introduction

Jérôme Piette, BTS MCO (Management Commercial Opérationnel) teacher at Campus La Salle Lille. Before going into teaching, Jérôme spent several decades in retail, in purchasing, marketing and merchandising positions, in a variety of sectors including toys, sports and fashion.

Why integrate Education Edition into La Salle Lille's educational program?

The idea of integrating Retail VR came from a simple observation: it's becoming increasingly difficult to capture students' attention with purely theoretical courses. Today, this generation is used to interactive and visual content. So we had to find a solution to make our teaching more dynamic and adapted to their expectations.

Merchandising is an essential part of the BTS MCO program, but it's hard to put into practice without a lab store. This type of installation is costly, space-intensive and not always feasible. Retail VR offered us an ideal alternative: an immersive 3D simulation that allows students to immerse themselves in a virtual store environment.

How easy or difficult was it to set up?

Setting up Retail VR has gone well, but it hasn't been without its challenges.

Facilities :

• The tool is very easy to learn, even for students who are not used to working with 3D software.
• The Retail VR team supported us by creating teaching modules adapted to the BTS MCO program.
• We were able to quickly integrate Education Edition into our schedule, with two-hour sessions dedicated to getting to grips with it and practicing.

Challenges:

• Initially, we had a few technical problems, as not all students have high-performance computers. Some of them work with basic PCs or Macs, so the Retail VR team was very reactive and was able to adapt the software to all types of computer.
• Not all students are comfortable with digital tools. Some don't use a mouse, and this takes some getting used to.
• We also had to adapt our organization by dividing classes into small groups for more personalized follow-up.

Results after a few months

Today, I can say that the objectives we set ourselves have been achieved.

• Retail VR sessions are very popular with students. They regularly ask us, "When are we going to work on Retail VR?"
• They gained a much better understanding of key merchandising concepts. For example, they were able to experiment with optimizing a planogram or managing store space, which was difficult to convey in theory alone.
• What I also appreciate is that they gain in autonomy. Thanks to the self-training exercises offered by Retail VR, they can correct themselves, and my role becomes more that of a coach.

Positive points for students and teachers

For students:

• They learn in a fun, immersive way. The "game" aspect of the tool motivates them enormously.
• They can add this experience to their CV, which is a real asset when applying to the retail sector.
• They develop concrete skills that can be applied in their first professional experience.

For us teachers :

• We've seen better attention and greater participation in class.
• The tool enables us to tailor our support to the level and needs of each student.
• Skills tracking is simplified thanks to assessments based on mastery levels, and the exercises offered by Retail VR help us to better assess students.

Before / After : How Retail VR has changed the way we teach

Before Retail VR:
We used to do a lot of theory, and even if we offered practical exercises, it was still very abstract for the students. Merchandising quickly became boring, and it was difficult to keep them interested over the long term.

After Retail VR:
The difference is obvious.

• We've moved away from theoretical teaching to a practical, interactive approach.
• Students learn by doing, which helps them better understand the challenges of merchandising.
• They can test, make mistakes, adjust and try again, just like in a real store, but without the constraints of the real world.

This approach engages them much more and allows them to assimilate the concepts with pleasure.

Conclusion

If I had to sum it up in one sentence: Retail VR has brought a new dynamic to our teaching. It's a modern, accessible tool, and above all, perfectly adapted to the expectations of today's students. All while being affordable for our students.

There's a very pragmatic aspect to the "test and learn" approach: you try it out, and if it doesn't work, you can adjust it, change the products and try again. This offers a great deal of flexibility in the use of the tool, making it easy to understand and, in a way, quite fun for users.