Ikea kicks off the virtual reality retail era

As predicted in a recent World Economic Forum report, virtual reality retail has come to fruition with Ikea Australia debuting the technology.

The global business, which also sells its own brand bicycles, now offers an experience whereby customers can shop on a virtual reality headset by “walking” through a digital store to browse virtual products. Customers in certain regions can also now make purchases on the VR system.

Malcolm Haylett, Ikea Australia’s multichannel specialist said: “The Ikea virtual reality store has been developed to support our online shopping service. We know that it’s important for customers to see and experience our home furnishings range. Ikea has recently made a move towards online retailing, but we want to offer the full Ikea store experience to our online shoppers.”

The virtual reality shopping experience will complement the firm’s online shopping service and tie in with in store collection services.