What kind of effects will virtual reality have on shopping?

Oculus Rift may have started off as a gaming-centric virtual reality headset but Facebook’s acquisition of the headset’s creators has opened it up to even more possibilities. One of these possibilities could be virtual shopping as a recent poll has shown that two thirds of all consumers would like to at least try a virtual reality shopping experience using an Oculus system. In fact many said they would be more likely to shop online if there was a virtual reality option. 

Two out of every three consumers say they would like to try shopping with the help of the Oculus virtual reality system. That was one of the conclusions of the Re-inventing Retail study from Walker Sands, a market research firm. And 30 percent of consumers say they would likely shop more online if they could try out products using virtual reality. Walker Sands has looked at the impact of other next-generation technologies on shopping, as well. In its study, the firm also examined people’s feelings about incorporating drones into their shopping experience. Two-thirds of consumers say they expect to have clothes and books delivered by drones within five years. With Oculus, which Facebook bought last year for $2 billion, there’s plenty of reason to think shopping can be a richer experience. That’s because users can see a highly detailed 3D visualization of just about anything. In a way, it’s ideal for looking at products without having to go anywhere.