Obsess Opens Virtual Stores
Obsess launches its VR- and AR-powered virtual shopping destinations, so young women can shop trends online — in an immersive way.
Shopping online should no longer be “boring and tedious,” according to Neha Singh, founder and chief executive officer of Obsess, which formally launches this week. Singh sees e-commerce being driven by experience, just as physical retail has been transformed, and she wants to lead the pack with her tech stack.
Venture-backed Obsess, the consumer discovery interface that creates “contextual” and “immersive” shopping experiences, does so with web-based virtual reality and augmented reality technologies — so consumers can shop without having to download an app. Prior, the company had only been leveraging its proprietary technology to brands, including Tommy Hilfiger, Farfetch and Levi’s, who have licensed the visual “experiential e-commerce” platform for special collections and realistic-yet-virtual boutique shopping experiences. Obsess will continue powering experiences for brands, in addition to operating its new shopping destination which is designed to be mobile first.
“Brands don’t need to do anything extra,” as Singh said to WWD. Obsess pulls images from the brands’ product feeds. “I don’t want to shop from a video game,” Singh reiterated, stressing the advantages in offering consumerfriendly photorealistic product and model renderings. The Obsess team enlists its patent- pending CGI tech to create the virtual stores, merchandising brand product images atop to preserve