Shelf space is always in limited supply compared to the number of products a retailer could potentially offer. Virtuality New Space, an Israeli-based, startup is developing a solution that gives retailers the opportunity to expand their physical space by adding virtual showrooms to their existing floorspace.

At Augmented World Expo 2016, Virtuality New Space demonstrated a prototype of their virtual reality shopping software. In their prototype, as seen in the above video, a shopper can choose different options (e.g. color, texture, etc.) for a home interior by moving his head to point to the location of a particular item and simply waving his hands and even grasping virtual handles. As Virtuality New Space co-founder and CEO Yoav Fael points out, having real objects appear in a virtual setting allows value added offerings, such as interior decorators that can opine remotely about a particular purchase, while the shopper is in the store.

From a manufacturer’s standpoint, this solution effectively expands shelf-space, exposing products that otherwise might be overlooked. From a retailer perspective, in addition to the additional shelf-space, no inventory is required and models are updated continuously. This type of offering could be a boon to retailers in rural America where it is not cost-effective to carry a large selection of products. It would help rural customers as it would reduce the windshield time associated with long-drives to larger retail outlets.

Virtuality New Space’s business model is the construction and maintenance of the virtual stores. Both manufacturers and retailers could be customers for its virtual showrooms. Stay tuned, as Virtuality New Space is expecting the first release of its offering to be launched this summer.