eBay once held a dominant position in the early days of the internet economy, connecting buyers and sellers through its popular auction model. Today, the company is striving to boost its market competitiveness by expanding its online shopping offerings with the help of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies. These innovations are seen as key tools to revitalize eBay’s growth and attract both buyers and sellers back to its platform.
Around ten years ago, as the online auction industry began to slow down, eBay’s revenue started to decline. Meanwhile, Amazon aggressively expanded into the non-auction sales market, capturing a significant share of the e-commerce space. In recent years, eBay has been working to attract niche sellers who aren’t present on Amazon by offering more favorable terms. Steve Yankovich, eBay’s chief product architect, emphasized that VR and AR will be crucial in making this transition successful.
Through augmented reality, users can see computer-generated content overlaid onto the real world using special glasses. Yankovich explained: “Imagine buying a pair of pants online. With AR or mixed reality glasses, you stand in front of your daily mirror and can see how the pants look on you.†This kind of immersive experience could significantly enhance online shopping, especially for items like furniture, where seeing the product in real life is often essential.
He believes that as AR and VR devices become more widespread, they will allow companies like eBay to sell products that were previously difficult to buy online. These technologies could also make shopping more enjoyable, encouraging consumers to browse more and develop stronger purchasing impulses.
Like its competitor Amazon, eBay is also investing in voice recognition technology. Yankovich envisions it as the primary way shoppers interact with the platform. Based on this technology, eBay has developed a tool called "eBay Assistant," though no specific launch date has been announced yet.
The idea that "the future of retail is VR" isn't unique to eBay. Walmart has long expressed similar views, and IKEA has already launched its own AR app using ARKit. Meanwhile, Chinese platforms like Taobao and JD.com have also embraced AR and VR, integrating these features into their apps to stay competitive.
While these developments are exciting, it's still early days for VR and AR in the consumer market. The adoption rate of these devices hasn’t met expectations yet. However, if one day VR becomes as common in homes as the internet was in the 90s, then it won’t be too late for the retail industry to fully embrace it. From another angle, if AR shopping and AR retail can drive broader awareness of AR/VR technology among consumers, it could be a win-win. But the key is that these tools must provide real value, solving actual problems in the shopping process.
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