Company’s R&D Team, Wayfair Next, to Debut First-Party
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Technologies for the Visualization
of Home Furnishings and Décor
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W), one of the world's largest online destinations
for home furnishings and décor, today announced the opening of its
Wayfair Next Research and Development Laboratory located at the
company’s Boston headquarters. Wayfair Next is dedicated to accelerating
the shift to online shopping by improving the visualization of products
through first-party technologies that will drive innovation in home
furnishings and décor. Currently, Wayfair Next is exploring novel 3D
scanning techniques to digitize Wayfair’s vast catalog to be used for
augmented reality, virtual reality and 2D rendering.
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“While Wayfair has already changed the way people shop for their homes
through unprecedented selection, service and convenience, we are never
done in our commitment to continually enhance the online retail
experience through technological innovation,” noted Steve Conine,
co-chairman and co-founder, Wayfair. “Virtual reality and augmented
reality will enable shoppers to bring their home décor ideas to life
before they even make a purchase. We look forward to rolling out
solutions we believe will make e-commerce a preferred method for
purchasing home furnishings, and inspiring and educating the community
about the potential of these visualization technologies in the home
space.”
In addition to the creation of first-party technologies, the Wayfair
Next Research and Development Lab also hosts the Wayfair Virtual Reality
Experience, a hands-on demo that allows users to transform a room by
customizing the model, material, color and layout of furnishings and
décor. Wayfair Next is also building its augmented reality application
for Google Tango, which allows users to see how pieces of furniture and
décor will look and fit in their homes through the display on a
smartphone.
“Technology innovation has always set us apart from every other player
in the home space,” continued Conine. “Wayfair Next represents our
commitment to constantly raising the bar to create the best possible
shopping experience for the home, adapted to how consumers shop today
and in the future.”
Wayfair Next will be taking its Virtual Reality Experience on the road,
hosting a demo of this latest initiative as well as its Google Tango app
for augmented reality at a variety of industry trade shows throughout
the year. Show attendees will be able to customize furniture layouts to
visualize their own personal designs.
About Wayfair
Wayfair Inc. offers an extensive selection of home furnishings and décor
across all styles and price points. The Wayfair family of brands
includes:
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Wayfair.com, an online destination for all things home
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Joss & Main, where beautiful furniture and finds meet
irresistible savings
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AllModern, a go-to online source for modern design
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DwellStudio, a design house for fashion-forward modern furnishings
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Birch Lane, a collection of classic furnishings and timeless home décor
Wayfair generated $2.25 billion in net revenues for full year 2015 and
$747.3 million in net revenues for first quarter 2016. The company
employed 4,604 people as of March 31, 2016 and is headquartered in
Boston, Massachusetts with operations throughout North America and
Europe.
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Source: Wayfair Inc.