Publication
Shopping in Virtual Reality
Marco Speicher (Hrsg.)
IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR-18), March 18-22, Reutlingen, Germany, IEEE, 3/2018.
Abstract
In contrast to traditional retail stores, online shopping offers many advantages, such as unlimited opening hours and a stronger focus on functionality. But this is accompanied by a complex categorization, limited product visualization and immersion. Virtual Reality (VR) has the potential to create new shopping experiences that combine the advantages of e-commerce sites and conventional brick-and- mortar shops. We examined the main features of online and offline shops in terms of buying behavior and customer frequency. Furthermore, we designed and implemented an immersive WebVR online purchasing environment and aimed to retain the benefits of online shops, such as search functionality and availability, while focusing on the shopping experience and immersion. This VR shop prototype was evaluated in a case study with respect to the Virtual Reality Shopping Experience (VRSE) model. The next step is to classify, investigate and evaluate the next generation of VR shops, including product interaction and navigation techniques, as well as store and product representations.