Amazon is offering customers a new immersive shopping experience called The Virtual Holiday Shop, which leverages 3D technology powered by Amazon Beyond to showcase a curated selection of top holiday gifts and interactive content.
The shop highlights the top 100+ gifts, stocking stuffers, holiday decor, and premium products from brands like Beats x Kim Kardashian, Kate Spade, Bumble and Bumble, and Coach.
The virtual experience also includes a Virtual Toy Shop, which spotlights popular toys from LEGO, Play-Doh, and Disney.
Amazon wrote in a statement, “We're always innovating to enhance the shopping experience and empower customers to discover products in easy and fun ways. We're always innovating to enhance the shopping experience and empower customers to discover products in easy and fun ways.”
Personally I find the virtual shop to be unappealing, cumbersome to navigate, and poorly curated.
For example, one display wall showcased a single roller skate, a red beanie, a thermos, and ski goggles alongside a colorful kid's basketball, an herb seed pod kit, and a Polaroid camera. What store did I supposedly just walk into to discover this haphazard collection? Goodwill?
The other thing that's a bit off putting about the virtual shopping experience is that all of the items are open on the shelves with no packaging, where packaging usually plays a big role in capturing the attention of in-person shoppers.
None of the items are viewable in 3D. Clicking on them simply opens the 2D Amazon listing on the right side of the screen.
The whole experience feels rushed — like Amazon threw something together last minute to compete with Walmart's Realm that launched earlier this year, and Shopify's partnership with Roblox that was announced in September.
It could also be that I'm just not a fan of virtual shopping malls where I have to click around to move 12″ through the store like an idiot. Save that type of movement for the Meta Quest — in which Amazon's Virtual Holiday Shop would also be a bore.
Who says improvements in virtual reality have to lead us in the direction of recreating in-person shopping experiences that include walking?
- Remember Cher's carousel closet from Clueless? Make a virtual version of that to discover new clothes!
- Create an environment of virtual avatars using and demonstrating products around me to capture my attention. (ie: A kid roller skating in a park alongside a couple taking a picture together with a Polaroid camera.)
- Throw me into a Turkish bazaar environment where street vendors are yelling at me and trying to sell me a JLo Beauty Holiday Set.
- Let me rob a car Grand Theft Auto-style and have a few popular items discoverable in a shopping bag on the passenger seat.
Anything but this 90s replica point-and-click shopping experience that lacks discoverability and interactivity! It's just boring.