A Virtual Reality Shopping platform for enhancing e-commerce activities of small businesses and local economies

Large companies dominating the e-commerce field are exploring new ways to enhance their users’ shopping experience through new technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, small businesses and retailers do not have the necessary economic and technological resources to implement these trends. This may result in an even greater loss of competitiveness against large companies. Furthermore, during and after the pandemic, governmental measures were promoted to boost local consumption and prevent the disappearance of small businesses that sustain local economies in some countries. However, many of these businesses lacked e-commerce services, which was a disadvantage. In order to prevent small businesses and their locally-identifying products from disappearing, we propose a VR and AI-driven e-commerce platform that allows them to join forces and become more competitive through the use of the latest technologies that are penetrating the e-commerce field. Additionally, this platform will offer the option of picking up purchased products at pickup points with personalized plans associated with cultural and leisure activities in the locality, which can (a) boost tourism, (b) stimulate local economies, and (c) reduce packaging waste.