Digital commerce is dominated by mega-corporations and marketplaces, where winner-take-all economies largely exist. Small business has not been replicated online in a way that resembles the traditional shopping enviromemnts of the physical world. For all the negatives about a poor mall shopping experience, there are plenty of positive aspects that hardly exist online.

Immersive technologies are in rapid development, with investment and interest spurred by the pandemic and the sudden reliance on digital. There may be a lull in development as the world eventually re-emerges, but the world will look different. There are opportunities to introduce some of the missing aspects into immersive digital commerce experiences:

• Create virtual shopping environments to mimic physical attributes of shopping areas
• Enable 'window shopping without triggering any tracking from shops
• Provide a variety that enables discovery
• Integrate personalization on a permission-based basis
• Add happy interruptions and surprises along way
• Allow for anonymous easy sharing with friends
• Display products in 3d using AR within store environments
• Curate shops to promote quality first
• No artificial real estate imposed on merchants
• Make shopping policies clear to all customers

Immersive technologies are developing quickly and immersive commerce shouldn't' be left to be dominated by big tech marketplaces and retail conglomerates. It can be made in a way tha promotes businesses fairly, while enabling a more enjoyable shopping experience for customers.