Virtual reality is coming to retail stores around the country – and soon. The Samsung GearVR is currently available in over 100 Best Buys across the country, but that number is about to grow by a lot. During the opening panel at SVVR, Nick DiCarlo of Samsung announced that they would be rolling it out to over 350 stores in the next weeks, growing to “every major city [in the US] by the end of summer.” The GearVR, currently on the second iteration of it’s “innovator edition” is preparing for a full consumer launch later this year when the next iteration of the Note is released.
Retail sale is going to be an important part of creating virtual reality’s future. As anyone who has tried VR can attest, it is not something that easily can be described, you simply have to experience it to understand it. At TechCrunch Disrupt Nate Mitchell reemphasized the importance of retail saying it would be a big part of Oculus’ release strategy.
Virtual reality is so vastly different than anything people have experienced before that it is hard for them to have a frame of reference for the experience. This is why retail will be so very important to the rise of VR. Things like Google Cardboard have helped hundreds of thousands to even millions easily experience VR for the first time, but the truth is that is a poor representation of what VR can really do. The more places for people to experience high quality VR for the first time, the better.
