Photo: Mercedes-Benz
A little more time has to pass until people are ready to buy very important (read “expensive”) products online, without seeing them first. If we were to guess, we’d say it won’t happen until the public has easy access to a high-quality Virtual Reality experience.
Things like cars, apartments or houses are very important buys that require equally important sums of money. Of course, there are those clients that have owned a specific brand and model and will get the new generation with their eyes closed, often placing pre-orders before they’ve even seen the car in the metal. But apart from them, the rest of the clients will always want to sit in the car first, maybe even take it out for a spin.
Yet that doesn’t mean that online shopping for cars isn’t already possible. Tesla has been sort of doing it, and other brands are thinking about making the acquisition of a car similar to how you buy a new laptop or a pair of shoes.
The latest to jump on the wagon is smart, Daimler’s jewelry division responsible with building those cute little city cars.
For the moment, the online store will only be available in smart’s second largest market, Italy, where customers will be able to add to their baskets the special edition “red & the city” of the two models, forfour and fortwo. By offering a preconfigured vehicle, smart is simplifying the whole process, thus easing its customers into the idea of online car shopping.
Since VR headsets are not abundant in every home but a broadband internet connection is, those interested in the new smart models are invited to access a virtual showroom with live feed from several angles, including an interior camera. There are also periodical presentations being given, with a countdown until the next one always running at the bottom of the page.
The online store offers financial services as well, but the real best part is that, like any online shopping, you get your car delivered to your door. That we could get used to.
You can either visit the online store or watch the live feed here.
Yet that doesn’t mean that online shopping for cars isn’t already possible. Tesla has been sort of doing it, and other brands are thinking about making the acquisition of a car similar to how you buy a new laptop or a pair of shoes.
The latest to jump on the wagon is smart, Daimler’s jewelry division responsible with building those cute little city cars.
For the moment, the online store will only be available in smart’s second largest market, Italy, where customers will be able to add to their baskets the special edition “red & the city” of the two models, forfour and fortwo. By offering a preconfigured vehicle, smart is simplifying the whole process, thus easing its customers into the idea of online car shopping.
Since VR headsets are not abundant in every home but a broadband internet connection is, those interested in the new smart models are invited to access a virtual showroom with live feed from several angles, including an interior camera. There are also periodical presentations being given, with a countdown until the next one always running at the bottom of the page.
The online store offers financial services as well, but the real best part is that, like any online shopping, you get your car delivered to your door. That we could get used to.
You can either visit the online store or watch the live feed here.
Google News