Facebook's Acquisition of Oculus Has Huge Implications for Retail and Marketing
Yesterday, Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company has acquired the Oculus company for the price of $2 billion, according to the New York Times. Oculus is the maker of the virtual reality headset, Oculus Rift.
Like something out of The Lawnmower Man, we can imagine a day in the near future, when shoppers will login and browse virtual produce aisles filled with products from Mastronardi, Earthbound Farms, Tanimura & Antle, and Ready Pac.
Not only that, but after online check-out, customers could have their orders delivered to their front door, either by trucks or even flying drones.
The technology is still under development, and has created a lot of buzz in the video game community so far, for its tremendously engaging interface.
As part of the announcement, several applications beyond video games were mentioned, including watching sporting events. The real boon for Facebook will of course be the marketing opportunities this type of platform will afford.
As AndNowUKnow recently reported, British grocery retailer Tesco recently released a video showing the potential of Oculus for grocery marketing.
Showing virtual shelves of products is one thing, but online shopping combined with a delivery service such as AmazonFresh could eventually make the Oculus Rift a tremendously disruptive technology for grocery retail.
In this brave new world, virtual reality can provide a totally immersive experience which personalizes online shopping. The potentials of this technology go well beyond the realms of gaming and shopping, however. This is a brand new platform with endless possibilities. I just hope people don't forget to go outside and enjoy the sunshine.
Oculus
