Virtual Reality Shopping - Concept Exploration

Walmart VR challenge | Entry from Vrewery | UX Design | Prototyping

Step into a department store anywhere in the world, try on as many clothes as you like and make your purchase without ever leaving your living room. This is our entry to the Walmart VR shopping experience contest that explores the future possibilities of shopping in VR. The project explores how a 3D space can represent user's shopping cart, the bought items by the user and the shopping arena. By visualizing the product in 3D and real scale, the user can see the actual size, fit and finish of the product and can explore their features in an intutive way. A typical example shown is shopping clothes, accessories like shoes and watches inside VR where the user can try them on a mannequin. Also the bought history page can have a virtual version of the product which the user can interact to know about its features, future upgrades and maintainance. A VR prototype is made as proof of concept to showcase online shopping experience in VR.

Concept Pitch

The VR shopper can walkthrough a full scale store of items, see the items in scale, check fit, finishes and ergonomics before buying which is not possible in current e-shopping. VR Store space can also accommodate the never ending item catalog unlike the physical stores without compromising much on the immersive shopping experience. A 3D online store concept is pitched as below showcasing different categories and shopping interactions. The concept pitches a VR experience that combines the variety and options of online shopping with the scale, size and advantages of shopping in physical store. So the interface is proposed to be intuitive taking cues from online shopping for searching for items, categories and sub categories with filter options without much physical effort. 3D selection menus with point and select interaction is used along with markers.



Items bought are in the my items history list with virtual goods of the bought items. The virtual goods are close 3D representation of the real goods with its own interactions. this allows the user to use the virtual item in the VR world just like the real product.


See items in scale and try them out. An example of trying out a clothing apparel on mannequin of defined size (similar to user) is pitched and prototyped.


VR Prototype

A VR prototype of the proposed concept is made along with interactions to be experienced at room scale in HTC vive. The prototype shows the home scene of the VR app having the user's collections, new products/launches/offers and the shopping scene. The new product ads are in 3D (for 3D immersive world). Below some of the shots of the prototype experience.


Refer below HTC vive prototype video built using Unreal engine to demo the VR shopping experience.

Virtual reality can be used in countless ways to change how customers interact with brands and products. AR and VR can both be useful in helping consumers see products in context, such as a furniture buyer previewing how a couch would look in their living room. Creating a custom order used to take a lot of time and rely on the customer’s imagination. AR and VR in retail help overcome those hurdles by producing virtual versions of the desired product. Lists of specs and features can be dry and mind-numbing. When such information is delivered in context, it makes a bigger impression - the shopper picks up and looks at a product, then sees specific information on the benefits of the part they’re viewing, so it’s much more likely to resonate. As the technology and adoption increases, we'll be seeing more such expereinces take shape and kick start the new era of immersive shopping.