• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

3

'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

3

'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
Virtual Reality

Ikea Embraces Virtual Reality With Virtual Kitchen

By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 6, 2016, 10:57 AM ET
Courtesy of Ikea
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Ikea is taking window shopping to a new level.

The Swedish furniture chain has launched its first virtual reality experiment, enabling owners of the HTC (HTC) Vive explore a virtual kitchen to visualize its cabinet and counter offerings via the headset.

“Virtual reality is developing quickly and in five to ten years it will be an integrated part of people’s lives,” said Jesper Brodin, managing director at IKEA of Sweden and range & supply manager at Ikea (IKEA) Group, in Wednesday’s announcement. “We [believe] virtual reality will play a major role in the future of our customers.”

Looking at the long term, explained Broden, VR could let customers test out a product before purchasing it. Yet the app, launched today and available for free via the Steam digital distribution service, is still a long way from that.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily technology newsletter.

Within the Ikea virtual reality experience, you’ll find yourself standing alone in a kitchen. Somewhere, off in the distance, a child is talking (presumably in Swedish), but it’s mainly background noise. Over by the window, you’ll hear birds and what sounds like an ocean. Since you’re unsupervised, you do what any visitor in a stranger’s home would do: you poke around.

You can open drawers to see what they’ve got as far as utensils and pots and pans. You can read their wall-sized message board and if see they’ve got holidays coming up. But because this is an interactive demo, you can also vandalize the joint a bit, changing the color of cabinets and drawers to get a different view.

Also thanks to virtual reality, you can adjust your height and view the kitchen from your normal perspective, which range from that of a small child or an especially tall person. (Your unknown hosts, incidentally, are fanatical about ensuring there are no dust bunnies.) Finally, if you get bored in this home, there are two more virtual kitchens to explore in the app.

Ikea is getting an early start in the VR advertising world, but it’s not the only company that sees potential in the digital space. At the recent South by Southwest conference in March, several panels convened to discuss how the technology could disrupt shopping as we know it today.

For more on virtual reality, watch:

“You can go into the store, but you can do it from the comfort of your own bed,” said Victor Lee, senior vice president of digital marketing at Hasbro. “You can try [clothes] on. Want to go further? Take [an item] out the box. And when you’re done, drag it into this cart and you’ve bought it. And you didn’t have to put your hands on it. That’s what VR is going to do. It’s going to change retail.”

For the most part, though, retail brands are currently using virtual reality to build awareness more than boost sales. Companies like The North Face have said they are focused on emphasizing the lifestyle their brand represents, putting together videos taking customers to locales like Yosemite National Park to hike and rock climb.

“I think [virtual reality] is like social media in 2008,” said Eric Oliver, director of digital marketing at The North Face. “For us, I want our brand to be in your consideration set when you buy a jacket next time. I want to be in your consideration set because we’re offering some entertainment at home. … We want to elevate your experienced overall and virtual reality is one part of the way we’re doing that.”

About the Author
By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Top CD rates from major banks on July 21, 2026: Chase CDs, Bank of America CDs, Citibank CDs, and more
Personal FinanceCertificates of Deposit (CDs)
Top CD rates from major banks on July 21, 2026: Chase CDs, Bank of America CDs, Citibank CDs, and more
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 21, 2026
2 hours ago
Current price of Bitcoin for July 21, 2026
Personal FinanceCryptocurrency
Current price of Bitcoin for July 21, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 21, 2026
2 hours ago
Current price of Ethereum for July 21, 2026
Personal FinanceEthereum
Current price of Ethereum for July 21, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 21, 2026
2 hours ago
Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Economynational debt
Jamie Dimon won’t put more of his own money into the long end of the bond market right now—thanks to the $39 trillion national debt
By Eleanor PringleJuly 21, 2026
2 hours ago
Current price of oil as of July 21, 2026
Personal FinanceOil
Current price of oil as of July 21, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 21, 2026
2 hours ago
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Personal Financesilver
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, July 21, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 21, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
19 hours ago
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
Success
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
By Sydney LakeJuly 20, 2026
23 hours ago
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
AI
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
By Jason MaJuly 18, 2026
3 days ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 20, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 20, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
Warren Buffett says his $147 billion investing career was an accident: ‘I may be one of the 10 luckiest in the world’
Future of Work
Warren Buffett says his $147 billion investing career was an accident: ‘I may be one of the 10 luckiest in the world’
By Sarah GlodekJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
It’s not just Taco Bell lettuce and possible glass in Pillsbury rolls: Food and drink recall events reached a 6-year year-over-year high
Retail
It’s not just Taco Bell lettuce and possible glass in Pillsbury rolls: Food and drink recall events reached a 6-year year-over-year high
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.