eBay and Myer launch Virtual Reality Department Store
eBay has teamed up with the Australian retailer Myer to create what the two companies claim is “the world’s first Virtual Reality (VR) Department Store”. The VR Department Store will feature more than 12,500 products from Myer.
Jooman Park, Managing Director eBay Australia and New Zealand said: “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.”
Myer CEO and Managing Director Richard Umbers added: “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.”
The Virtual Reality Department Store connects to the existing eBay.com.au API (Application Programming Interface) which allows Myer’s product range, pricing and stock information to be updated in real time, a first for virtual reality experiences globally.
In a statement issued on 19 May, eBay and Myer said that they were offering customers the opportunity to receive their own shopticals (specially designed virtual reality viewers) to start their VR shopping experience. 15,000 shopticals were made available free of charge from www.ebay.com.au/VR.
Owners of shopticals download the eBay VR Department Store app on their smart phone, and insert their phone into the shopticals with the app open to start their virtual shopping experience.
Sources report that most items in the VR Department Store are illustrated with 2D images, but the top 100 products will be viewable in 3D-like images, which users can rotate.
