Imagine this: you put on your virtual reality headset and you find yourself in a complete virtual supermarket, where you can walk around, interact with produce and you buy these ‘virtual’ items that are delivered to your home one hour later. Sound good?  As the grocery landscape continues to evolve, traditional brick-and-mortar supermarkets are learning investment in physical stores may not be the most cost-effective approach. Today leading supermarkets and food and beverage retailers are exploring the potential and possibilities of virtual reality.

WALMART’S VR APPROACH

In August of 2018 Walmart filed a second patent for at home virtual reality shopping. They describe a system in which users wear a VR headset and sensory gloves, which provides them with an in-store experience from the comfort of their home. Orders that customers place through Walmart’s VR program would then be uploaded to their fulfillment centre where orders would be distributed by autonomous robots.

Naturally this type of shopping experience will appeal to busy people, or those who find it challenging to travel to their local store. But there also other more immediate benefits to virtual-reality enabled stores. Physical store space is still an important asset to retailers. When they’re designing and modifying their stores VR is a great way to test and develop the best use of space and design. Before any financial investment is made in terms of remodeling the physical store, retailers can instead leverage VR to digitally test their store variables, as well as designing stores from a consumer’s perspective. Customers can “walk” through VR stores and deliver feedback in terms of their enjoyment, mood etc. How is the décor? The ambience? The organization?

DENT REALITY

There are also other uses for VR when it comes to grocery shopping. In 2018 London-based Dent Reality introduced a video presenting an augmented reality interface that enables shoppers to see real-time information as they move around a store.

Their founded, Andrew Hart, said: "based on spacial tracking and computer vision, [the tool] can surface specific product information when you want it, integrate with your shopping list, and help you shop with your dietary requirements in mind," Hart told Mashable. "Or perhaps there's a recipe you want to follow, so it would guide you around the store to pick out all the ingredients." 

Although the full impact of VR shopping is still unknown, VR adoption within the home is undoubtedly growing. By 2025 it’s estimated that VR will be a $25bn market. There seems little reason why supermarkets won’t follow suit.

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