Virtual Reality

While the debate will continue around businesses’ expectations of virtual reality's potential vs. the realities of consumer adoption, VR has gone ahead and found a growing number of ways to make business and industry more efficient, more effective and better connected to its customers. And not always in the most obvious ways. Take VR retail…

Furniture and kitchenware giant Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSI) is acquiring augmented reality (AR) startup Outward in an all-cash deal for $112 million. The furniture brand, which operates stores including Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, West Elm and others, will be using the startup’s 3-D imaging tech to “enhance and extend its high-touch customer service platform,” the company says. Outward, founded…

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) bring the potential for entirely new shopping experiences and new kinds of added value. They are the gateways to “v-commerce,” a blend of brick-and-mortar retailing and e-commerce. L.E.K. Consulting recently surveyed 1,000 consumers who were aware of AR and VR technology. The results offer an initial look at…

After chatting with and listening to retail executives at last week's Shop.org conference in Los Angeles, I left the event with the following three themes: 1. Amazon.com is a Behemoth, But We Have Brands and Communities The overriding sense I got listening to retailers at Shop.org is that while they understand that trying to compete…

The future is now. This thought went through my head several times this week at Shop.org in Los Angeles, especially when I was sampling some of the virtual reality (VR) immersive experiences that were on display on the trade show floor. The VR experiences I've demoed in the past have been proof of concepts designed…

Tune in to learn how to use digital experiences to capture the interest, loyalty and dollars of Generation Z and millennial consumers.

Whether it’s fraud prevention or facial recognition, retailers have never before faced such a proliferation of technology. Today, retailers must be experts around geo-location, mobile apps, mobile wallets, authentication and a slew of other technology-related tools, not to mention have strategies in place to utilize them correctly. To sort out all of the technology options…

If you're not a gamer, you probably haven't experienced some of the new virtual reality platforms like Oculus and PlayStation Virtual Reality (VR). It's a big challenge for brands and retailers alike, as they try to find ways to allow consumers to try out the headsets before the holiday shopping season. Andrea Schubert, communications manager…