Visa’s virtual reality retail experience and connected car showcased at film festival

a road sign saying the future next exit

In its 19th year of sponsorship of the Toronto International Film Festival, Visa will will be showcasing the future of retail through immersive experiences, including demonstrations of its proof of concept Connected Car and a virtual reality retail experience.

“Similar to stepping into a theatre, our onsite demos at the heart of the Festival, at Roy Thomson Hall, offer guests the ability to be transported in a fun way to experience the future of shopping,” said Brenda Woods, head of marketing, Visa Canada.

Virtual Reality Retail

The people attending the ten-day film festival will be able to step in and be surrounded by 8-foot screens, showing them a virtual shopping environment.

Visa says the virtual shopping reality will allow attendees to choose between settings such as a Parisian-style bakery, complete with romantic music, bright colours, and beautiful pastries, or an old-style Country Western shop, with country tunes and wood accents.

Consumers will navigate their way through the stores and select their purchases through touching the screens that surround them.

Visa consumer experiences at the Festival feature Visa Checkout, Visa’s online payment service that lets consumers make online purchases without having to re-enter billing information.

Connected Car Commerce

Visa placed its connected car in the context of the statistic that by 2020 it is estimated that more than 250 million vehicles worldwide will include some form of embedded connectivity.

Visa says its connected car “will showcase Visa’s leading edge payment technologies while keeping busy on-the-go consumers in mind“.

The demonstration will take festival-goers on a 360 degree journey that begins with ordering a meal on the way home.

“As the number of internet-enabled cars on the road increases and internet-connected things proliferate, we will continue to provide Canadians with innovative ways to pay for everyday purchases from the car such as gasoline and drive-through purchases,” said Derek Colfer, head of Technology & Digital Innovation, Visa Canada.

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