The shopping power-players have joined forces to bring us what many shopaholics say is the future of home buying – the virtual reality (VR) department store.
By strapping on the VR device pictured, 12,500 products from Myer can be browsed, selected and added to your cart using eBay Sight Search™.
“It’s like I’m in another world,” gasps one eBay shopper at the recent Sydney launch.
“This makes it too easy to spend far too much money,” smiles another convert.
The VR 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.
So what are you waiting for?
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 were available free of charge from www.ebay.com.au/VR.
Owners of shopticals simply 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.
“We hope our shopticals make it into the hands of technology lovers, but more importantly, shoppers who might not live close to a department store and can now experience virtual shopping from the comfort of their own home,” says Jooman Park, Managing Director eBay Australia and New Zealand.
How it Works:
1. Personalise
The shopper selects their areas of interest at the beginning of the experience and the store is custom built around these needs, making the most relevant products visible first. As shoppers move through the store, the smart technology suggests other products that might be desirable or interesting, based on what the store knows about them.
2. Browse
Using eBay Sight Search™, the shopper views a product in the store and by holding their gaze on it, the product is selected and automatically floats towards them, with the top 100 products available to view in 3D, and more than 12,500 in 2D. The shopper is able to quickly move through different departments of the store, making the shopping experience much more time effective for today’s busy consumer.
3. Research
Shoppers simply lock eyes on information icons to receive full product specifications, as well as price, availability and shipping details.
4. Purchase
Shoppers just hold their eyes on the ‘Add to Basket’ icon to complete their purchases via the eBay app.