Category: walmart

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Walmart Files Two Patents For New VR Shopping System

Walmart are no strangers to virtual reality (VR) and now it seems the company is looking into how they can leverage the technology to allow shoppers to experience the joy of shopping from their own home. According to two new patents filed by the company, this could very well become a reality.

As reported by Bloomberg, the two patents have been filed with the U.S Patent and Trademark Office and detail a “virtual show room” and fulfillment system that would connect shoppers wearing a VR headset and sensor-packed gloves to a complete 3D recreation of a Walmart store. This system would allow shoppers to wander the digital aisles from their own home and “grab” items they want, which would be immediately picked and shipped from a fully automated distribution center.

This new VR system is yet another move from Walmart to embrace the technology as a means to help improve performance and sales. It is no secret that brick-and-mortar retailers have seen struggles in recent years so this more to support the immersive technology is a solid move from the company. In February of this year, Walmart acquired Spatialand, a startup that makes software tools to create VR experiences and it is most likely their work that has seen these new patents come to life.

Walmart 3D Virtual Tour

As noted by Bloomberg, Walmart have filed for more than a dozen VR patents but their focus has shifted from using VR for internal business to more external, shopper-focus applications. Explains Zoe Leavitt, a managing analyst at patent researcher CB Insights, speaking to Bloomberg about the new patents.

Early this year Walmart released an online virtual apartment shopping experience. This allows customers the chance to explore a pre-made apartment, complete with a number of products that are available to purchase just by the user clicking on them within the experience. This not only offers an immersive shopping option but also helps customers visualize how the items might look within their own home.

VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on Walmart’s future ventures into immersive media

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Walmart Applies For ‘Virtual Show Room’ VR Shopping Patents

Walmart Applies For ‘Virtual Show Room’ VR Shopping Patents

We’ve already seen a few examples of brands dabbling in VR shopping, such as Vera Bradley, Alibaba, and even the mother-of-all online retailers, Amazon, but no physical retail companies the size of Walmart have stepped into the arena. However, according to a recent report from Bloomberg, that could all be about to change.

It appears that the retail giant has recently filed for patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that would entail a “virtual show room” and digital replica of a Walmart store, including a platform for shoppers to explore via the use of VR headsets.

The patents even cover things like grabbing items from virtual shelves into a digital shopping cart in front of them. And once you buy something in VR, you actually would have bought it in real life as it’s shipped to you automatically from a distribution center. Basically, it’s just like shopping online, but everything is represented in 3D space instead on a flat computer screen or mobile device.

“Walmart knows that its stores are too big and unwieldy for people,” Zoe Leavitt, a managing analyst at patent researcher CB Insights, told Bloomberg. Leavitt then goes on to say that so far the company has filed for more than a dozen VR-related patents over the years.

What do you think of this news? Is VR shopping you want to become a thing? Let us know down in the comments below!

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The post Walmart Applies For ‘Virtual Show Room’ VR Shopping Patents appeared first on UploadVR.

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Walmart Release New Online Virtual Apartment Shopping Experience

In it’s continued effort to use the latest technology to compete with other major retailers, Walmart have announced it will be introducing a new way for customers to shop on its site in the form of a virtual reality (VR) apartment experiences. Dubbed the 3D Virtual Shopping Tour, the experience allows customers to explore a virtual curated apartment that showcases a number of products which they can then purchase directly from the experience.

Walmart 3D Virtual Tour

By taking a curated apartment that showcases the 70 or so different items in the best way, customers are treated to a nature and real-life shopping experience. As they move around the virtual tour a number of prompts will enable them to gain more details about the product along with finding a link to the purchase it from Walmart’s website. Including in the items are a number of private label offerings and national brands, ensuring their is a product for everyone within the virtual tour.

Because the experience is designed for use on the web, it means that users are able to explore the virtual apartment on their computer with a compatible web browser or immerse themselves in it using a mobile device and Google Cardboard or a Samsung Gear VR headset.

Walmart 3D Virtual Tour

Walmart would be able to easily tailor the 3D Virtual Shopping Tour to fit the seasons and market trends by simply updating the experience with a newly curated apartment. Being able to showcase a large number of items at a given time as well, it makes it a value for money display which could even be installed into physical locations allowing the company to further maximise their floor and display space.

Walmart has continued to embrace the immersive technology in a number of ways including using VR to train their staff, which they announced last year. Now with the new 3D Virtual Shopping Tour, the company will be able to offer a more personal shopping experience for their customers shopping online which in turn could lead to increased sales.

Those looking to try out the new 3D Virtual Shopping Tour and see what products Walmart has curated for the experience can do so here. For more on Walmart and their uses of VR technology in the future, keep reading VRFocus.

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Walmart’s Tech Incubator Store No. 8 Acquires VR Startup Spatialand

Wal-Mart, the big-box retail giant, unveiled its Store No. 8 tech startup incubator last year with the aim of researching and investing in emergent tech like AR and VR. Now, Store No. 8 has acquired Spatialand, a startup that has created a platform and toolset for enterprise companies to create VR content.

In addition to her duties as Principal & Founder Store No. 8, Katie Finnegan will be signing on as interim CEO of Spatialand, according to a Wal-Mart blog post.

Spatialand initially worked with Store No. 8 last year to create the Wal-Mart incubator’s VR gala, Innov8, which the company says culminated in a proof of concept VR experience for how they think “millions may shop in the future.”

Finnegan says the new venture will operate in stealth with Spatialand’s Kim Cooper and Store No. 8 consultant Jeremy Welt as co-founders. The team, Finnegan says, will “develop and explore new products and uses of VR through immersive retail environments that can be incorporated by all facets of Walmart, online and offline.”

Kim Cooper is a two-time Emmy nominee and under her leadership, Spatialand’s VR platform has created projects for Oculus, Intel, Reebok and Linkin Park.

Jeremy Welt, a VR strategy and product advisor, helped launch YouTube’s first commercial deal to working on the Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of Maker Studios. He has also been a consultant for 360 video app company Splash and Mindshow, the VR movie creator tool.

 

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Walmart Acquires Content Studio Spatialand To Drive VR At Retail

Walmart Acquires Content Studio Spatialand To Drive VR At Retail

Store No 8, the tech incubator established by Walmart, has made its first acquisition in the world of VR.

The organization today announced that it has acquired VR content studio, Spatialand, for an undisclosed sum. You may have heard of this studio before; last year they worked with Linkin Park to film their Chester Bennington memorial concert in 360 degrees and, prior to Bennington’s death, created a VR experience to kick off the band’s final tour.

Spatialand has also worked with Store No 8 before, last year creating a VR gala, Innov8 (which we reported on), as a proof of concept VR experience for the future of shopping.

Under the Store No 8 banner Spatialand will form what the company calls the foundation for its next portfolio company, which will operate in stealth mode for now, headed up by Store No 8 Co-Founder and Principal, Katie Finnegan. Kim Cooper, Spatialand’s co-founder and CEO, and Jeremy Welt, Chief Product Officer at Store No 8 will also serve as co-founders.

In a prepared statement, Finnegan explained that the team will “develop and explore new products and uses of VR through immersive retail environments that can be incorporated by all facets of Walmart, online and offline.”

Walmart is no stranger to VR itself. Last year we reported that the US retailing giant had started to incorporate VR training into its recruitment programme to help staff better deal with customers.

Expect to see new solutions for retail-based VR emerge from this deal in the coming months and years, then.

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The Quantum Storey Company Launches VR Book Series Operation YOU at Walmart

There have been various ways publishers and developers have tried to combine both books and virtual reality (VR), to make for an immersive unique experience. Curiscope recently partnered with book publisher Dorling Kindersley on All About Virtual Reality, or then there’s Masters of the Sun graphic novel by hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas. The latest comes from The Quantum Storey Company with a new VR book series called Operation YOU.

Beginning Quantum Storey’s new category of VR books, the first Operation YOU title, Morning Nightmare, depicts the pitfalls and pressures experienced boarding the school bus. Written in the first person, as readers turn the pages of the printed book, Ray, a major character in the series, invites them to download the free app., and use the included cardboard VR headset to jump inside the story. Once in the book, readers experience what happens in the first person, as the primary character is the reader. So they’ll find themselves on the bus, having to dodge snowballs and much more.

The Quantum Storey Company Operation You image

Additionally, Operation YOU also utilises augmented reality (AR) in certain sections to bring the pages to life.

“We created a completely new and exciting way to experience traditional books by enabling readers the unprecedented ability to connect emotionally to the text and illustrations by transporting inside a virtual representation of the pages of a story, producing a visceral interaction,” says J. M Haines, founder and CEO of The Quantum Storey Company and author of the Operation YOU series. “Debuting with Walmart for the launch of Operation YOU, provides an incredible opportunity to introduce this next level of storytelling and consumer technology to children from all walks of life, bringing families of the new generation, together.”

The Operation YOU app is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. The flexi-bound books, printed on durable heavy stock and illustrated by the Visser Bros., will retail for $17.49 USD with The Quantum Storey Company signing a exclusivity deal with Walmart so the retailer will be selling the books at $12.24.

For further updates on VR book series Operation YOU and The Quantum Storey Company, keep reading VRFocus.

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More Places To Buy a HTC Vive And Accessories With Retail Expansion

Consumers wanting to get their hands on a HTC Vive in the USA will have more options on where to purchase it from in the coming weeks as Vive expands its retail reach by adding several big US retails to those stocking HTC Vive headsets.

HTC Vive headsets and related accessories will soon be available from stores such as BestBuy.Com, Walmart.Com, Jet.com and B and H. The list includes some of the biggest retailers in America, which may raise the profile of the HTC Vive among consumers considerably.

“These retailers mark a massive expansion of our online retail presence and are a testament to VR’s march toward the broader consumer market,” said Dan O’Brien, GM US, HTC Vive. “Interest in VR and Vive continues to grow. Paired with recent news with Apple, Google and Intel, we’re seeing major retailers and direct-to-consumer companies endorse Vive as the premier VR experience.”

HTC Vive CV1

As previously reported on VRFocus, all new purchases of the HTC Vive will come with a free copy of Ubisoft’s Star Trek: Bridge Crew, a title that puts players in the role of an officer aboard a Federation starship. The title has been reviewed by the VRFocus team and got high marks.

“Star Trek has always pushed the boundaries of the imagination and the concept of virtual worlds,” said O’Brien, “Ubisoft and Red Storm have made a huge commitment to bring AAA gaming to virtual reality and the Vive. We couldn’t be more excited to bundle copies of Star Trek: Bridge Crew with Vive purchases to celebrate the launch.”

In addition to receiving Star Trek: Bridge Crew, new HTC Vive owners will also get several other virtual reality (VR) experiences, including Everest VR, Richie’s Plank Experience and a free month of subscription to the Viveport service.

VRFocus will continue to bring you news on the HTC Vive and other VR products.

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Walmart Using VR To Train Staff

There are some situations that can’t be adequately prepared for and only experience can teach people what to do. Some who have worked in retail would say that is the case for situations such as the mad rush of Block Friday or the run up to Christmas. Walmart, one of the world’s biggest retailers, is seeking to address this by using virtual reality (VR) to teach its staff.

Working in partnership with STRIVR, a VR start-up company that has previously worked with colleges and professional athletes, Walmart have developed a 360-degree video training program that includes various scenarios related to areas such as customer service, management or the Black Friday rush. The program offers the trainees on-screen cues inviting them to make decisions based upon the scenarios they encounter.

The training program began after STRIVR met with Walmart and began a pilot scheme in January 2017 which was rolled out to 30 Walmart training centres, which was used to fine-tune the VR experiences to make sure they were meeting the requirements of Walmart staff. The VR training programs last from 30 seconds to five minutes, and act as a complement to traditional training methods.

The STRIVR VR instruction program is being rolled out to all 200 of the ‘Walmart Academy’ training centres to help educate the estimates 150,000 employees of the retail chain that go through the training each year. Walmart management hopes that by the end of the year each training centre will have an Oculus Rift headset and high-end gaming PC to run the VR training content.

STRIVR CEO Derek Belch told TechCrunch: “We don’t do anything that is not a good use case for VR,” he said. “We have experiences for the lowest-level bagger all the way up to the store management. When you have literally the biggest company in the world as your first enterprise customer, that’s kind of a big deal.”

VRFocus will continue to bring you news on VR in training and education.

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Walmart Focuses On Future of VR/AR at New Silicon Valley Tech Incubator

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the big-box retail giant, is focusing on the future of VR and AR, along with other emergent technologies, with its newly unveiled tech startup incubator.

According to a Bloomberg Technology report, Wal-Mart is creating the incubator to “identify changes that will reshape the retail experience, including virtual reality, autonomous vehicle and drone delivery and personalized shopping.”

The incubator is simply called “Store No. 8,” a name that Bloomberg says is in reference to a previous Wal-Mart location where the company experimented with new store layouts. Wal-Mart CEO Marc Lore announced the incubator on Monday at ShopTalk, an eCommerce and retail conference in its second year.

According to Wal-Mart, Store No. 8 is focusing on robotics, virtual and augmented reality, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and will be partnering with startups, venture capitalists and academics.

Like many in-house incubators, the goal is to produce new and innovative technologies internally, one that in Wal-Mart’s case will likely focus on the future of its numerous retail locations that, thanks to the power of everything listed above, may change drastically in the years to come.

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