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11 Dec 2000, USA

Hi,

Can you give me some information about "Virtual shops", something which is dynamic and interactive as well? For example, a utensils shop where you can fill water in a glass, drop a spoon into it and all. I would like to know the tools and technology used to do this and I would also like to know some site URLs who have tried to implement this kind of thing.

Thanks in advance,

Shelly

Dear Shelly:

Hello again. Most of the work in virtual reality shopping has been at the research level and I don't know of any successful VR shops. The biggest reasons for this are:

1. Virtual reality takes up a lot of memory. Hence, virtual reality shops are slow to download. Most consumers have little patience to wait - especially if they are using a comparatively slow dial-up modem. This was one of the problems that of Boo.com, one of Europe's most famous bankruptcies.

2. Some VR applications can be unstable, especially in older computers or browsers. If a site causes a consumers computer to crash, they are not likely to come back again.

3. A lot of VR applications require the user download and install a plug-in. Most consumers can't be bothered. They want to shop, not to deal with a lot of technical hassles for some special effects.

Nevertheless, there has been some experimentation with VR. I suggest you look at the On the Net project at the University of Washington. They have a good collection of VR links there.

Software used in VR sites ranges from special VR software which requires plug-ins to developing Flash or Shockwave animations that allow uses to move around a product.

All the best,

Dr. Ecommerce