There is barely any technology that can be enjoyed as an independent experience. Smartphones need a sim with a high-speed data connection, television requires a setup box or wifi, and your high-end camera needs a proper lens to be admirably aesthetic.
The lesser the add-ons, the more relaxed we feel. Earlier, most of the virtual reality experiences were in the form of apps, which means to experience it, you have to download the particular app. Now, this is really a boring process. We already know how much storage capacity each application eats, and also, it is less convenient to open each app one by one to experience virtual reality.
In today’s world, where brands are struggling to keep themselves different from the rest, virtual reality was born to serve the brands for exactly just what they needed. There are many virtual websites that provide a real-time experience to their consumers. This is where WebVR comes as a game-changer. The WebVR shows 3D models straight into your browser and enables you to view the content directly in the browser. The purpose of the VR portal is to provide a virtual experience to every user, regardless of what devices they have.
Many people think that VR is exclusively for gamers and that to enjoy virtual environments requires massive investment in technology. But that’s not the case. Apart from virtual reality game development, its benefits have now expanded into the wider business sphere. Companies nowadays are creating real-life simulations in risk-free, cost-effective ways with VR.
VR portals have drastically changed the way retailers do business and how their customer’s browse, shop, and buy. Today, people of all ages, children, millennials, or old, prefer to do shopping from various e-stores. Buying products online has become a common practice among people around the world.
Have you ever thought about why people prefer to buy goods from online shopping? Well, it is all about comfort and ease!
VR provides strategic advantages in new and creative ways to cater to customers. In our current society, customers are looking for something which is fun and unique. The typical shopping experience is not enough for the modern-day customer in terms of how they want to spend their money. Providing shoppers with a new technological experience can benefit how they search and shop for goods. It is extremely likely that the customers will adapt to the implementation of a virtual website in business sectors. Let’s have a look at the 5 top VR sites that are benefitting from VR integration.
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Alibaba
Virtual reality is no longer sci-fiction. Alibaba, an online retail giant, introduced Buy+ as a new style for the consumers to browse goods in a virtual mall. Buy+ is basically a way for retailers to reach a larger audience to browse and buy products in real-time, no matter where they are. It does not need a big fancy HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. All it needs is a basic cardboard VR headset along with a smartphone.
With Buy+ the customers were able to view the goods in a virtual mall with the help of a 360-degree view as well as assistance from a robotic shopping assistant. The customers with headsets can walk around the shop, pick up items to analyze them digitally, and pay for their shopping by simply nodding their head. It is as if they are walking by themselves in a brick-n-mortar store. Simple, quick, and right out of our childhood science fantasy dream.
It is as easy as a virtual interface, so the customers don’t need to remove their headset until they are done with shopping. Even the retailers who did not have any physical stores to reach a wider pool of customers were a game-changer for them and a dream come true. Evidently, the skills and experience of virtual reality game developers create an excellent value to VR shopping. It combines both personal and emotional feelings into online shopping experiences.
eBay
eBay Australia presented a vision of shopping without shops and malls in collaboration with Myer stores. The two companies teamed up to develop a personalized shopping store based on what shoppers will like and look at thousands of products quickly using VR headsets.
Once you enter the virtual store, you will see different categories of retail items, all products floating around in three-dimensional clouds in front of your eyes. You can choose them simply by looking at them. The customers can select items using sight instead of hand controllers. The store uses “eBay Sight Search,” a characteristic which enables the customer to choose the particular item by holding your gaze on it for a few seconds. eBay also uses an algorithm that displays the products viewed by you, so you get tailored suggestions.
The shopper can easily and quickly switch to various departments of the store, making the virtual shopping experience much more time-efficient for today’s busy customer. In order to have a look at the full product specifics, price, availability, and shipping details, all they have to do is gaze at information icons. Users can add to the cart in the same way, but to buy, they have to take off the headset and purchase the items through the eBay app.
Volvo
Volvo is another virtual reality website where you can explore the inside of a car, in VR, that too from your phone, in a browser! Moreover, test driving a car makes a lot of sense when you don’t have a dealer nearby. To give an immersive experience to the customers, Volvo uses the low-cost VR platform, i.e. google cardboard. It gives you a feel as if you are driving through various scenes. The drive is amazing. You can see around to have a complete 360-degree view along the ride from the driver’s point. So, the user can look in any direction as if they are actually sitting inside the car. Obviously, this will not be a deal-breaker to persuade you to make a purchase and is not perfect as a real test drive, but undoubtedly an excellent tool for marketing.
Google Chrome
Google has made it simpler to explore VR content immediately by bringing WebVR to Chrome. Google chrome has the potential to offer a rich experience to the users. To enjoy a more immersive experience, users can browse to a specific page, tap on a WebVR experience, and have the choice of navigating it with their finger (or mouse on desktop) or tossing the smartphone into the Daydream view. Earlier, the users could use only Daydream Android phones, like Google’s Pixel or Google’s Daydream View headset, to have an immersive experience in WebVR. In 2018, the browser could support the Oculus Rift Headset, which means the users can now use a high-end headset and browse in a virtual website.
Mozilla Firefox
Firefox for Windows was the first desktop browser that supports WebVR for all users, providing you to experience next-generation virtual reality entertainment. Firefox Reality, launched by Mozilla, is a custom-built web browser for use with VR headsets. Whether you are an owner of HTC Vive or Oculus Rift, or even still deciding when to take the VR leap – Firefox will get you to your VR fix faster. When you choose the preferred web game or app which supports VR, you can experience it with your headset by clicking on the VR goggles icon available on the web page. With your handset controllers as well as your movements in a physical place, you can navigate and control virtual reality experiences.
Summing Up
The internet was one major revolution that drastically transformed the entire nature of the world we live in. What would it be like if there is no internet in the world for a day? It is hard to imagine. Such has been its impact. Since the widespread success of the internet, many imaginative minds working with leading software development companies in India and across the globe have amazed us with technologies that operate on the web. WebVR is one of them and is the next game-changer.
With each year passing by, VR is widening its potential. The day is not far when virtual reality will be a mainstream entity in the World Wide Web. And the site can be accessed as easily as you use Google today. Once Bill Gates said, “The internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.” With the rise of WebVR, one will have to accept that he is right again.
About Carson Derrow
