Alibaba's GM lab (Gnome Magic Lab) focuses on VR and AR (augmented reality)has already started operating and will provide technical support to Taobao. |
Alibaba plans to develop standardized tools so that its partner brands and merchants can build their own 3-D content.
"The long-term goal is to enable businesses to set up VR stores as quickly and easily as a web page," said Alibaba in an earlier statement.
The main challenge for now is the high cost for merchants to build 3-D content. Zhuang Zhuoran said it costs about 500 yuan ($75) for merchants to develop a simple piece of 3-D content about a product. "We hope to lower the cost to dozens of yuan with technological breakthroughs and eventually make VR-based online shopping a part of everyday life in China," he said.