One of the joys and benefits of shopping in brick and mortar stores is that you get to see the product you’re about to buy. You can touch it, see it, smell it, and test it before deciding if it is right for you. Of course this also means having to take time out of your day to drive to the store, walk around, and so on.
Some people do not have that luxury of time, which is why online shopping is so popular, but it seems that Walmart could be thinking of a system that could bring the best of both worlds. In a patent discovered by Bloomberg, it appears that Walmart is testing out the idea of a virtual reality (VR) shopping experience.
Through the use of a VR headset and gloves with sensors outfitted in them, shoppers will get to experience shopping in a virtual Walmart store minus the hassle of the crowd. The items that shoppers pick in the virtual store will then be shipped from a distribution center once they been paid for.
This wouldn’t be the first time Walmart will be trying to disrupt the existing way we shop. The company has partnered with companies like Waymo for grocery deliveries in the past. They also appear to be quite hooked on the idea of VR as they have launched VR features on its website. That being said, this is only a patent which means that there’s no guarantee that it will be implemented for real.
Filed in . Read more about Patent, Virtual Reality (VR) and Walmart.