Walmart invests in 3D

Walmart uses 3D technologies to create new shopping experiences for its customers

It's no secret that Walmart, the world's largest retailer, is going digital and investing heavily in new technologies, including 3D technologies. Its objective: to remain on the top step of the podium and to resist to the web giants, Amazon included.

Investment in startups

In 2017, Walmart announced the acquisition of a VR startup called Spatialand. This start-up was developing solutions that facilitate the creation of immersive virtual reality experiences. This acquisition was announced as a turning point for the group which seeks to reinvent and transform the shopping experience of its customers. Spatialand is now located in STORE n°8, the in-house incubator.

Patents in VR

A year later, Walmart pushed the envelope and filed two patents: one detailing the idea of a virtual showroom, the other an order processing system that allows shoppers to shop in VR. Users wear both a headset and gloves equipped with sensors to explore a representation of a Walmart hypermarket. They can "pick up" the merchandise they want to buy, then add it to a queue for immediate shipment from an automated distribution center. Many skeptics have suggested that the vast majority of consumers will not wear a headset to enter the digital representation of a physical store, yet these are the same critics who believe that e-commerce experiences must become more experiential. Isn't that especially true when you can touch and feel the items? Add to that the potential savings in overhead costs in the context of increasing store closures in the U.S... Is the brand really going in the wrong direction?

Walmart: from v-commerce to training

In the wake of this, the giant has bought 17,000 Oculus GO to train its employees. The objective is to standardize the training levels. We're talking about a million people all the same. The director of Walmart US explained at the time: " when you watch a module through the headset, your brain feels like you've actually experienced the situation. We also found that virtual reality training boosts confidence and retention while improving test scores by 10 to 15% even for employees who simply watched others train. "While waiting for the release of innovative and disruptive concepts on which we can speculate at leisure, Walmart, very pragmatically proposes to its customers for a few months to use augmented reality to compare the products they want to buy.

Testing of the first uses in progress

The iOS application invites the customer to scan the barcode. After that, the app launches a product sheet with key features, including price, rating and reviews. With a simple click, customers can compare several products simultaneously.Tim Fields, Head of Engineering at Walmart Labs said: "This is the magic of augmented reality. It's an incredibly powerful communication tool. It enhances the attractiveness of real-world properties. It's very easy to manipulate and people can do it instinctively".Having trained its entire workforce in VR, Walmart may have found a simple and effective way of linking the physical world to the digital one, and getting its customers used to digital uses in-store. This suggests that the giant is preparing its customers for more advanced digital uses, such as shopping by entering the digital representation of a physical store. From v-commerce, then... it's only a short step. Want to find out more about virtual reality? Download the free white paper "The contribution of 3D in retail".