Inside Obsess, the platform bringing VR to digital retail

With the fashion industry constantly evolving around the world of technology and social media, the way consumers are shopping for products is changing, too. Platforms like Instagram have shifted from being the destination to discover new labels and products, but they’ve now become an avenue for consumers to shop directly from a brand or store’s account. Obsess—which is incorporates virtual reality into the retail experience with its virtual stores—is taking digital retail a step further.

Founded by Neha Singh, Obsess’s website brings the consumer various stores for fashion, lifestyle, wellness, beauty, fitness, and home. These stores include those sectioned off by of-the-moment trends such as “Color of the Year: Living Coral” or “Tie-Dye Turns Elevated,” as well as options curated by influencers. With the mission to “Make Shopping Fun Again,” each store provides an immersive, 360-degree experience.

“We aim to be a shopping destination bringing together the values important to the new generation of consumers and new generation of brands. All in the context of beautiful, inspiring, visual discovery experiences,” Singh said in a statement.

Obsess aims to make its virtual reality experience easy and accessible to its users.

As Obsess’s founder and chief executive officer, Singh brings years of experience as the head of product at Vogue and as a software engineer at Google—along with her Computer Science education from MIT—to her platform. Obsess’s investors include Village Global, which is backed by leading tech entrepreneurs Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and more.

Each store on Obsess’s website is created using computer-generated technology and use a VR-based proprietary patent-pending platform that allows users to experience its stores without the requirement of a VR headset or app. Obsess can be experienced on both consumers’ phones and desktops.

Images: Courtesy of Obsess