
Walmart has acquired VR startup Spatialand - prostoalex
https://www.recode.net/2018/2/6/16977006/walmart-vr-virtual-reality-spatialand-store-no-8
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chx
I must be not visionary enough. When online shopping, I have rarely wished to
see more of a product but rather missed more tactile engagements: are these
clothes soft, thin or thick? Do these shoes fit my unusual shape feet? And so
forth.

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on_and_off
>Do these shoes fit my unusual shape feet

I feel this is the biggest opportunity : how will these clothes fit you. Let
me use my smartphone to register my body automatically(ios or android, they
have enough sensors to map my body just with the camera and ML), then show me
how this jean will fit me.

Of course one of the biggest issue would be that clothes have pretty large
size variation (most of the fabrication is still done manually).

~~~
sdrothrock
There's a company here in Japan that's giving away free suits with sensors to
measure you for a best fit.

Japanese: [http://zozo.jp/zozosuit/](http://zozo.jp/zozosuit/)

English: [https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/start-today-usa-
lau...](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/start-today-usa-launches-pre-
orders-of-the-zozosuit-a-revolutionary-body-measurement-device-to-help-
deliver-perfectly-fitting-clothing--300560911.html)

~~~
King-Aaron
I don't quite follow. Are these suits for individual consumers to use when
they need to order new clothes? Or is it the sort of thing you'd have if you
owned a tailors shop and customers put it on for test fitting?

It seems like an expensive item to give away for free, so they must be pretty
sure that they'll recoup their costs?

~~~
sdrothrock
It's a suit that they're sending out for free to anyone (individual customers)
who asks, so I imagine they're pretty confident about the confidence in sizing
leading to increased sales.

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GuiA
Trying to find more info about what the company has done in the past, it looks
like they contributed to a Linkin Park VR experience:

[https://www.roadtovr.com/linkin-park-release-vr-
experience-b...](https://www.roadtovr.com/linkin-park-release-vr-experience-
built-spatialand-intel/)

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fudgy73
Link to blog post with more information:
[http://blog.storeno8.com/2018/02/05/store-no-8-creates-
third...](http://blog.storeno8.com/2018/02/05/store-no-8-creates-third-
portfolio-company-following-its-acquisition-of-vr-platform-and-content-studio-
spatialand/)

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debt
This acquisition reeks of some C level exec trying to play or at least
attempting to play catch-up to the likes of Amazon and Google and other online
major retailers.

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LyndsySimon
I know a couple of people who work at Walmart R&D, and while I'm certainly no
insider, I do know that they have had people working on VR/AR for at least a
couple of years in a serious way.

~~~
dvanduzer
The article says it's about shopping experience, but I would be surprised if
they aren't also looking at warehouse logistics. Put the clipboard into a HUD,
etc.

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NoSkillCap
Think of VR as a tool for very emotional, very real advertising that can
connect a consumer to the story and culture of a product.

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Gustomaximus
I did a VR shopping experience with Ebay. I cant see it becoming a done thing
for common consumer goods.

I suspect it will be great for viewing realestate/hotels/resorts type purchase
before booking or travelling to see a house in person.

