Virtual showroom

How does a virtual showroom work?

A virtual showroom opens from a link like any web page. The interior is displayed in one of two ways. In the first, the browser draws the 3D scene itself through the WebGL standard, using the graphics chip in your computer or phone. In the second, the scene is rendered on a server and a live image is streamed to the browser, which receives it without plug-ins thanks to WebRTC. The second approach looks close to a photograph even on modest hardware, but it needs a server with a graphics card for every viewer.

The shopper moves around the showroom — as an avatar, by clicking, or along a set path — and walks up to a display. From a mannequin, shelf or table they open a list of products or a product card with the price, sizes and an add-to-basket button.

Types of virtual showroom

Type	What the shopper sees	How they buy
360° tour of a real showroom	spherical photos, jumping between points	usually a link to the online shop
A brand’s 3D showroom on its own site	a designed interior for one brand	anything from a catalogue to a basket inside the showroom
A showroom inside a virtual mall	one brand’s space next to other shops	the mall’s product card and basket

How is a showroom different from a virtual mall or an online shop?

A virtual mall is many shops in one building, with floors and other shoppers. A showroom is one brand’s space — it can stand alone or sit as a unit inside a mall. Compared with an online shop, the difference is how you browse: instead of a grid of photos and filters, you see products styled, at scale and side by side.

Virtual showrooms suit categories where impression and context matter — fashion, beauty, home furnishings and higher-priced appliances. They are less useful when you already know the model and only want to compare specifications; a search box is quicker then.

A showroom can also be a place to shop together. In 2021 Charlotte Tilbury added “Shop With Friends” to its virtual store, built on the Obsess platform; according to Glossy, customers could bring up to four people into a video chat while they browsed.

Is buying in a virtual showroom a real purchase?

If the showroom leads to a real shop’s basket, yes. It is an ordinary distance contract, with the same rights as any online order. In the UK, regulation 30 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 says the cancellation period for goods ends 14 days after the day they come into your physical possession. Before buying, check who the retailer is and that the basket belongs to a shop you recognise.

Example

In Aderlo City, the premium fashion showroom on the third floor of the Aderlo Gallery in Warsaw works as a showroom inside a mall: the image is rendered on our servers and streamed to the browser in photorealistic quality. Shoppers walk up to a mannequin or rail, open the collection, pick a size and add the item to their basket, and Aderlo fulfils the order. How to get there, and how to visit with friends, is covered in Virtual Shopping With Friends.

Related term: immersive commerce — the broader name for retail you step into rather than scroll through.