Myer, eBay Launch World First VR Department Store
“Our customers can now immerse themselves in the experience of shopping inside a Myer store from wherever they may be, with product information updated in real time to ensure everyone can keep up with the latest offers from Myer.”
From today, eBay and Myer are offering customers the opportunity to receive their own shopticals (specially designed virtual reality viewers) to start their VR shopping experience. 15,000 shopticals will be available free of charge from www.ebay.com.au/VR
How it works
- Download: the eBay VR Department Store app is available for download from today, with the experience accessible using eBay shopticals or another VR device.
- Personalise: at the beginning of the experience the shopper selects the product categories of most interest to them. As you browse products and categories other products that might be of interest are suggested. As you explore the VR world, your shopping habits are analysed and the experience personalised to your profile.
- Browse: using eBay Sight Search™, the shopper views a product in the store. By holding your gaze on it, the product is selected and automatically floats towards you. Fully rendered 3D product images are available for the top 100 available products. Product departments are easily accessible and browsable.
- Research: Product details and other relevant information — like stock levels, delivery options and returns policies — are easily accessible with just a turn of the head.
- Purchase: shoppers just hold their eyes on the ‘Add to Basket’ icon to complete their purchases via the eBay app.
“The feedback we’ll be getting over the next few months will come from interviewing our customers. We’ll be seeing analytics behind how long they spend in the experience, what they looking at, what they’re buying. All these data points will help inform what comes next.”
Physically building the VR environment has also been challenging. While the majority of the 12,500 available product images have been pulled straight from the Myer eBay store in 2D, the top 100 available products have been fully rendered in 3D, which is particularly complex and time consuming.
Social shopping is another huge possibility, being able to digitally shop with friends via virtual reality.
“Imagine shopping a boutique in London from your sofa in Sydney with your sister who lives in New York,” said Brennen.
True personalisation and contextual relevance is another exciting possibility. Brennen talks of a personalised VR store that only shows relevant products and brands in the right size.
See the full story here: http://www.powerretail.com.au/news/myer-ebay-vr-store/