eBay has developed and launched a virtual reality (VR) department store in Australia in conjunction with retailer Myer.
By using the eBay VR Department Store app and a VR headset, shoppers can now peruse and purchase the 12k items of Myer inventory. eBay has launched its own headset called “shopticals” but you can use the generic headsets too.
You control the app with head and eye movements. And in this instance, using what they call “eBay Sight Search” you cn select items by fixing your gaze on it for a moment. This gives you a chance to properly inspect the item and see details like specifications, size, price and postage costs. the 100 products can be viewed in 3d but most items will be in 2d.
Jooman Park, Managing Director at eBay Australia and New Zealand, say: “It’s been important to us that we don’t just replicate the e-commerce experience in a virtual environment. We are taking the best elements of traditional retail and expanding on them to improve browsing, selection, personalization and efficiency.”
Currently this system is only available in Australia, so we haven’t been able to test it out. But we’d be pleased to hear from any readers down under who have had a play around with it.
