Visitors try out the virtual reality (VR) headsets at the Taobao Maker Festival. (Photo : Getty Images)
China's e-commerce giant Alibaba has introduced its Buy+ virtual reality technology at the Taobao Maker Festival in Shanghai on Friday, July 29, CNBC reported.
The event, which aims to attract millennial consumers, was initiated by Alibaba to help connect shops in the online and offline worlds.
Shoppers at the retail festival can wear an Alibaba VR headset while shopping online at 72 shops on Taobao e-tail platform. Using the headset, shopping can view products which include clothing and fashion accessories, with a 360-degree view and know more detailed information about the product than what is provided on a regular desktop or personal computer.
Shoppers can also find products that matched their needs through the use of a robot shopping guide.
Chris Tung, the company's chief marketing officer told CNBC that "big data" technology, which Alibaba had been working on for several years, has helped the company in its venture into virtual, augmented and mixed reality.
"Alibaba is a data technology company," Tung said. "We're just walking the talk," adding, "I think we have to, and we love to, play a key driver role to develop [the VR] market."
According to Tung, retailers on its platforms were able to take advantage of the company's user data to promote its products.
Alibaba had launched in March a VR research laboratory called the GnomeMagic Lab. The lab would work on VR and AR technologies, with the aim to help sellers on Alibaba platforms to build their own 3D product inventories, and eventually enable them to set up entire VR stores.
The company's e-commerce business is also working to develop virtual reality content in partnership with Alibaba Pictures and Alibaba Music. Alibaba Pictures has poured in money in the latest reboot of the sci-fi film "Star Trek Beyond", which earned under $60 million to top the U.S. box office in the film's opening weekend.
